A 37-year-old man was stabbed repeatedly at a Grime music awards ceremony at the Hammersmith Apollo theatre, west London.
Metropolitan Police was called to the Eventim Apollo on Tuesday at around 9 pm where officers found a man suffering from several stab wounds in the back on Queen Caroline Street, opposite Hammersmith station.
He was taken to a West London hospital where he is in a “serious but stable” condition, reports the Evening Standard.
At the time, the Apollo was hosting the fourth annual GRM Daily Rated Awards.
Amongst those presenting this year were rapper Not3s, comedian Michael Dapaah, and producer Steel Banglez with high-profile attendees including DJ Tim Westwood.
A spokesman for GRM Daily, which describes itself as “the most visited urban music website in the UK” and the epicentre of Britain’s urban culture, told media: “Violence has no place at the Rated Awards and we are devastated that someone has been hurt. First and foremost our thoughts are with the victim.
“The safety of attendees is our primary concern and stringent security measures were in place to ensure this. We are assisting the police with their ongoing enquiries and will work closely with them, the venue and the security team to understand how this happened.”
Eventim Apollo is assisting Scotland Yard with its enquiries; there have been no arrests.
The Hammersmith Apollo, known as the Eventim Apollo and previously the Hammersmith Odeon, is an historic entertainment venue which has hosted performances by the likes of Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, and Morrissey.
Last month in Camberwell, South London, a rapper from the city’s “drill” music collective was stabbed to death.
The 23-year-old victim Siddique Kamara, also known as Incognito, had been killed on the same street as another member of his group Moscow17 was fatally shot in May. The drill rap outfit had previously appeared on Capital Xtra DJ Tim Westwood’s YouTube channel and on the BBC’s Radio 1.
The stabbing comes amidst a crime wave in London, where knife crime has risen by almost one third under Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan and there have been 1,299 stabbings in London up to the end of April, according to Metropolitan Police figures.
All aspects of Londoners’ lives are being impacted by the rise in crime, with stabbings happening to the city’s residents when they are on the morning rush hour train, outside their homes, and in broad daylight on streets full of shoppers.