London killings: Man stabbed to death in Stratford is fourth victim in just four days
Two teenagers were killed within minutes of each other on Friday before a man in his thirties died in Tower Hamlets 24 hours later
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A man has died after he was stabbed in east London early on Monday morning, becoming the fourth person to be killed in the capital since Friday afternoon.
The latest victim, who is believed to be in his forties, was found with knife injuries in Stratford at 12.40am and pronounced dead minutes later.
Police said they know the man’s identity but have not yet released his name. Detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s homicide and major crimes team are currently searching the crime scene, but have not yet made any arrests.
Speaking before the latest killing, the Met’s deputy assistant commissioner Matthew Twist said his officers were carrying out “high-visibility patrols” and targeting specific locations to “prevent further violence and to provide reassurance to the communities in those areas”.
“The circumstances, causes and motives for any homicide or serious violence incident are different and unique, and require different investigative strategies and approaches.
“But we are taking a service-wide response and all officers right across London continue to be relentless in our pursuit of those who bring violence to our communities.”
The spate of violence began on Friday afternoon when two teenagers were killed within minutes of each other in two separate locations.
An 18-year-old, named locally as Cheyon Evans, was stabbed to death in Wandsworth, shortly before Eniola Aluko, 19, was shot and killed in Plumstead.
Then, 24 hours later, a man in his thirties was knifed to death in Tower Hamlets.
Two teenagers, a 17-year-old from Merton and 18-year-old Mohammed Nadir Dafallah, from Wandsworth, have been charged with Mr Evans’s murder.
Later on Monday morning police announced they had made a third arrest in the case, detaining a 20-year-old man on suspicion of murder, who is currently being questioned.
Five teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the death of Mr Aluko, and two men, aged 28 and 33, have also been arrested on suspicion of murder following the stabbing in Tower Hamlets on Saturday.
Senior Met detectives have called on anyone who witnessed the slew of killings to come forward.
Detective Chief Inspector Simon Stancombe, speaking about the Tower Hamlets stabbing, said: “I am convinced that a number of people witnessed the incident itself or the immediate aftermath and may have filmed it on their phones.
“I urge those people to come forward and speak to us or provide their footage.”
Mr Twist said: “The public also play a huge role in helping to both prevent and detect crime. I urge anyone who has information about an incident, or about someone they suspect to be carrying a weapon, to get in touch.”
Anyone concerned about remaining anonymous was asked to speak instead to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
The killings have reawakened the debate over London’s rising rate of violent crime rate. Donald Trump has castigated the mayor of London Sadiq Khan on Twitter, calling him a “disaster”.
The president also retweeted a post by Katie Hopkins – whose commentary has become popular in the far-right media ecosystem since leaving both LBC and Mail Online in 2017 – which accused Mr Khan of turning the capital into “Londonistan”.
A spokesperson for Mr Khan said the mayor would not “waste his time responding to this sort of tweet” because he was “focusing on supporting London’s communities and overstretched emergency services”.