12-year-old boy stabbed eight times in suspected gang attack was getting his Mum a take-away
He was 'in the wrong place, at the wrong time' according to neighbours
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Your support makes all the difference.A 12-year-old boy is fighting for his life in hospital after being repeatedly stabbed in the chest and back in Hackney at around 10pm on Tuesday, 23 June.
The boy, currently said to be in a stable condition, had been getting a take-away for his mother from Hoxton Chicken and Pizza, a two minute walk from their home at Stanway Court off Falkirk Street.
He collapsed in the courtyard outside their east London flat. Neighbours reported him lying in a pool of his blood and calling for help. His mother rushed down from the eighth floor before an ambulance arrived and they were taken to a central London hospital.
Locals from the area told the Evening Standard that "It’s all gang related, it’s just about what side of the street you live or what estate you live on", and that the boy was "in the wrong place, at the wrong time." Police have said that his condition is now serious but stable, and not considered to be life-threatening.
Half an hour before the attack, a 19-year-old man was stabbed in his hand and leg on Gorsuch Street, three minutes by car from where the boy was ambushed. His injuries are not believed to be serious.
The Hoxton take-away shop where the boy was stabbed was also the location for a killing in 2010 when 16-year-old Agnes Sina-Inakoju was shot. The teenager had been standing in the shop’s window with friends when Leon Dunkley, 22, a member of the London Field’s gang, fatally shot her in the neck with a submachine gun.
No arrests have been made yet in relation to Tuesday’s stabbings and the investigation is on-going. Detectives believe that the two incidents are linked and gang-related. They are appealing for witnesses and have released descriptions of suspects.
The suspects for the stabbing of the 19-year-old on Gorsuch Street are two black males on bicycles, who had earlier been part of a larger group chasing the victim.
The suspect for the attack on the 12-year-old boy on Hoxton Street is described as a young black male, aged approximately 15 to 25 years, who ran away on foot.
On June 24, in a separate attack, a 14-year-old boy was stabbed in the thigh in Lewisham. The boy arrived at Deptford Green School before 9am, seeking help. A 13-year-old boy was arrested after a knife was found at his home.
Lewisham Police later tweeted: "this could have been MUCH worse. It's only lucky that this child wasn't more seriously hurt. #knivestakelives".
The Metropolitans Police released statistics earlier this month, revealing that the level of violent crime in the capital is the highest it has been in four years.
There was a 23 per cent rise in knife crime injuries in under-25s between May 2014 and May 2015, according to findings from the London Assembly Labour group. In eight London boroughs, including Hackney, there was a rise of over 50 per cent in the same time period.
The Met has asked anyone with information regarding the stabbings in Hoxton to call Trident on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800-555 111.
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