Scotland Yard launched an 80-strong task force to tackle the epidemic of soaring knife crime as another young man was stabbed to death in London.
A squad of covert and uniform officers is to be deployed to trouble spots at a moment’s notice to curb flare ups of violence across the capital. The moves comes as police are battling a 24 per cent rise in knife crime in London amid a stream of stabbings and murders across the city.
In the latest incident a 23-year-old man died after staggering into Barnet Hospital with stab injuries at 7.30pm last night. He received emergency treatment but died an hour later. Detectives believe he was attacked in Masefield Crescent, Southgate before being driven to hospital. There have been no arrests.
In another incident last night a 17-year-old was repeatedly stabbed in a suspected gang related attack outside the Arcola Theatre in Dalston.
The teenager was first described as critically injured but his condition this morning was described as stable.
Last week six men were killed in knife attacks in London and a total of 17 men under the age of 25 have died in stabbings this year.
Last week the Met launched the eighth phase of its Operation Sceptre campaign against knife crime with details of a new squad to tackle violence and a series of measures aimed at deterring crime with a focus on working with schools.
DCS Gallagher said: “What is clear is that it is not just the victim who is vulnerable, what is becoming quite clear is that the suspect cohort come from a chaotic background.
“It is not just driven by socio-economics, there are also mental health issues and some real vulnerability which has put them into that space of carrying or using knives.”
