The victim of the first murder of 2020 of London’s ongoing crimewave under the mayoralty of Sadiq Khan has been named as Takieddine Boudhane, a killing for which no arrests have been made but a police manhunt is underway.
Takieddine Boudhane, a 30-year-old driver for the food delivery app Deliveroo was stabbed to death on Friday in Finsbury Park London. The victim, an Algerian immigrant of three years, was pronounced dead at the scene in front of his father.
A co-worker of the victim decried his death, which reportedly was inspired by road rage, telling the BBC that “this country is getting worse”.
“He was a good man. He doesn’t make any trouble — he works and he goes home and he ends up being killed while he’s working,” he said.
“It’s not safe to work by yourself anymore — what can you do? If someone comes at you with a knife you give them what you have or they are going to stab you,” the co-worker added.
“I was attacked here by people with a big machete and now this man has been killed for no reason. The police do nothing. They just come, take a statement and then they go,” another driver at the scene of the crime told The Daily Mail.
No arrests have been made in relation to the killing of Boudhane. However, police are currently conducting a manhunt for the suspected murderer.
Figures released by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) showed that last year 149 people were murdered in London, the highest number of killings since 2008. Of the 149 people murdered in London, 90 were stabbed to death with knives, up from 55 just five years ago.
Statistics released in April of last year revealed that an average of 40 knife crimes is committed every day on the streets of London. In 2017 and 2018, there were 29,232 reported instances of knife-related crimes, including 9,030 stabbings.
In response to the murder of Boudhane, London Mayor Sadiq Khan wrote that he “will continue to tackle the causes of crime”.
“The stabbing of a motorcycle delivery driver in Finsbury Park last night is shocking and sad. My thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues. Such violence has no place in our city. Motorcycle delivery drivers must be given the support they need to do their work,” wrote Khan.
Mr Khan, who is up for re-election this May, has been widely criticised for failing to tackle the knife crime epidemic, including by President Donald Trump who wrote in July: “LONDON needs a new mayor ASAP. Khan is a disaster — will only get worse!”
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