London: Two Killed in 30 Minutes Overnight, U.S. Visitors Fearful of ‘Crazy’ Violent City

London
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Liam Deacon

A young father and a woman were stabbed in London within 30 minutes last night, as the number murdered in the capital this year hits 59.

The killings come as News Yorkers living in London said they fear the “crazy” violent crime wave overtaking the city. “It’s like home but without the breakdancing,” one said.

The Metropolitan force launched the first murder probe after Raul Nicolaie, 26, was stabbed at his flat in Colindale, north London. He was rushed to hospital but died from the injuries.

A woman, 34, was arrested at the scene and was taken to a north London police station. She and the dead man were known to each other.

Just half an hour after later, a woman in her 30s was found with fatal knife wounds at a house in Brixton at around 6.30pm on Sunday. She was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

A man in his 20s was arrested on suspicion of the killing and he remains in custody at a south London police station. It is thought the victim and the man arrested were known to each other.

So far this year, London’s murder rate has been higher than that of New York for the first time since the 19th century, despite the UK having punitive gun-control laws. The two cities have a similar population size.

Now, New Yorkers living in the UK capital have now told of their worry about London’s violent crime wave.

Adam Janeway, a 28-year-old MA student living in Islington, told the Evening Standard: “I don’t know what you’ve got going on here, man – it’s crazy.

“You got people throwing acid in other people’s faces, kids riding around on moped’s stealing cell phones.

“I’m not the type to get political myself but I don’t really understand how your Government can continue cutting back on the police budget and not think this kind of thing is gonna happen.”

Raniah Day, 39, a substitute drama teacher who moved to Haringey, north London, four years ago, said she was “worried” for those growing up on the capital’s streets.

She told the Standard: “I feel deeply sad when I hear that the murder rate is so high in London or in NYC.

“I feel scared for the young men and women who are living in areas and communities where they are drawn into, or have to navigate, gangs, territories, or peer group violence.”

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