A teenager has been stabbed to death in South London on Monday evening in a suspected gang-related “hit”.
The 18-year-old victim was reportedly slain on his doorstep, outside Collins House in Greenwich, south London, with witnesses describing three men involved in an altercation with him, police said.
Officers said he suffered stab injuries and died at the scene just after 10 pm, despite ambulance services rushing to try and save the youth. There has been no formal identification or arrests made, police added.
The killing comes as two alleged drug dealers were jailed the following day, Tuesday, for killing a rival in the street in Stockwell, also in south London.
Hassan Mohamed, 24, was jailed for murder and will serve at least 26 years after the killing of Balbir Johal, 40, in March of this year. He was found with fatal stab wounds.
His accomplice Yaasiin Yussuf, 21, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment and an additional three years on licence after release.
He had been deported from the country in December 2016 after being convicted of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, but was “back in the country unlawfully and re-entered almost immediately and began dealing drugs” the judge said.
Detective Chief Inspector Richard Leonard, who is leading the investigation into the killing in Greenwich, said: “We know that several people reported seeing the victim in a confrontation with three other males on mopeds before an altercation in which he sustained his injuries.
“The males then rode away from the scene. I need anyone who may have information that could assist us to make contact as quickly as possible.”
The incident marks the 20th teenage murder inquiry begun in London this year, with more than 110 people murdered in total in the capital in 2018, the Evening Standard reports.
Witnesses told the newspaper there was a commotion outside a block of flats just before 9.30pm.
One said: “There were two guys on a scooter. The stabbed boy was on the ground. They sped off. It was all very quick and it was clearly a hit.
“We tried to talk to the guy on the ground but he had gone. We tried to get him back, to reach him, but there’s nothing we could do.
“I couldn’t see any blood, but apparently he was stabbed in the back. It was dark and I couldn’t see the faces of the guys on the scooter. I didn’t recognise the victim.”
Another added: “There was a massive commotion and a bike revving. We looked out and the boy was lying on the ground. We checked for a pulse but he was dead. We were in total shock.”
Knife crime in the capital has risen to record levels, with nearly 15,000 offences committed in the 12 months to June – a 15 percent rise on the year before.
There have been 69 knife killings, with 12 of the victims just teenagers.
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