Khan’s London: Two Men Stabbed to Death, Woman Gunned Down Despite Lockdown

DEPTFORD, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 06: Police Officers guard a crime scene on December 6, 2019 i
Hollie Adams/Getty Images
Kurt Zindulka

Two men were stabbed to death and one woman was shot in London at the weekend on the streets of the British capital despite the city being under lockdown restrictions which should have seen many — if not most — at home.

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) are currently investigating a spate of violent crimes over the weekend, as two men were fatally stabbed and a woman was shot on Sunday alone. Police have also charged a man after a 45-year-old man was stabbed to death in Croydon on Friday.

At 5 pm on Sunday police were called to the scene in Lambeth, after a man in his twenties was stabbed to death. Police were also called to a separate fatal stabbing in Kensal Green at 2 pm on Sunday, where a man, who is believed to have been in his 60s was killed with a knife.

Detective Chief Inspector Katherine Goodwin, who is leading the investigation of the stabbing in Kensal Green, said: “I believe this terrible incident may have been witnessed by a number of horrified onlookers.”

So far police have not identified any suspects in the two fatal stabbings.

Later that evening, a 32-year-0ld woman was shot at around 10 pm in Hackney. She was taken to a hospital in East London, where she is still receiving care, with her condition being considered life-threatening.

“At this early stage, we believe that the victim was an innocent bystander,” said Detective Inspector Matt Webb.

The horrific crimes come as the city remains under strict national lockdown measures after Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced a second national lockdown earlier this month.

Surging violent crime in London has led to the sixth-straight year of over 100 murders in the British capital. There has been a particularly marked rise in crime during Sadiq Khan’s time as mayor, which London Conservatives characterised as “alarming”.

In July, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that crime in London was a key driver of the record rises in knife crime in England and Wales.

In September, Islington councillor Rakhia Ismail — London’s first hijab-wearing mayor — resigned from the Labour Party, after making accusations of Islamophobia within the party. She has since gone on to join the Conservative Party and promised to campaign for Tory mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey, citing Khan’s failure to tackling crime in the capital as a key motivation.

“I believe [Bailey] will inspire every family across London, and every family across the country that has suffered from violent crime,” she said.

In an interview with GQ in November, Mr Bailey accused the London Mayor — whose term in office was extended due to the Chinese coronavirus — of failing to properly tackle the issue of knife crime, claiming that Khan has a “blind spot” for the issue.

“He’ll talk about the causes of crime, but he won’t talk about how it’s cool, often, to be a criminal. He won’t talk about the trauma of knife crime,” Bailey said of Khan.

As mayor, Mr Bailey said that he would “make people who carry knives have the impression that they could get caught. Scan and search. Imagine you got off the train at King’s Cross… the police could scan that whole crowd.”

“That’s why I want to be mayor of London. You can take action. You have the budget. You have the statutory and moral right. You can do things; get the police to do something!” Bailey proclaimed.

Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here: @KurtZindulka

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