Hunt for knifeman in north London after four people are stabbed at random Martin Evans
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/03/31/hunt-knifeman-north-london-four-people-stabbed-random/
There have been more than 20 fatal stabbings across the capital since the start of the year, with two knife murders in the past few days.
Scotland Yard officers were urgently hunting a crazed knife-man who stabbed four complete strangers in the space of a few hours after approaching them at random.
A 45-year-old woman and a 23-year-old man remained in a critical condition in hospital and two others were seriously hurt following what detectives described as a series of “senseless and cowardly” attacks.
Officers flooded the streets of Edmonton in north London and warned the public to be vigilant following the spate of linked knifings which occurred in the space of just over 12-hours.
The attacker was described as a black man, approximately 6ft 3ins tall, of skinny build and wearing dark clothing, possibly a hooded top.
The incidents followed another upsurge of bloody violence across the country with at least six fatal stabbings in recent days.
On Monday Theresa May, the Prime Minister, will host a major knife crime summit at Downing Street as the police desperately try to get a grip on the rising tide of violence.
The north London stabbings, which police are linking, began on Saturday evening when a 45-year-old woman was approached by a man and knifed once in the back as she walked along residential Aberdeen Road in Edmonton.
Locals who heard the woman’s screams ran to her aid and tended to her until the paramedics arrived.
She was taken to an east London hospital where her condition was described as critical.
Around four hours later the same attacker is believed to have approached a 52-year-old man on Park Avenue in Edmonton around three miles away stabbing him more than once.
The victim was taken to an east London hospital for treatment where his condition was described as not life threatening.
A few hours later, just before 4am, police received reports that another person had been stabbed in the area.
This time they found a 23-year-old man close to Seven Sisters Tube station suffering from knife injuries.
Police said initial investigations indicated he had been stabbed in the Silver Street area around three miles away but made his way to Seven Sisters before collapsing.
The last incident took place on Sunday at 9.43am when police received reports that a man had been stabbed in the back in Brettenham Road in Walthamstow.
Police said while the victim’s injuries were not life threatening, they were potentially life- changing.
Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Smillie from the Met Police said they were treating the incidents as a potential mental health issue and urged people to remain vigilant.
He said: “Police are treating the four stabbing related incidents as potentially linked. The four victims are all from different backgrounds and appear to have been selected at random due to them being alone and vulnerable. There is nothing to suggest this incident is terror related.
“We are working on the hypothesis that the single male suspect is acting alone and mental health issues may be a factor. All of the people he has targeted have been walking alone and he has approached from behind without warning.
“Members of the public who have information about this suspect or have spotted someone acting suspiciously who matches his description are advised to call police on 999 and not to approach the man.”
There have been more than 20 fatal stabbings across the capital since the start of the year, with two knife murders in the past few days.
On Thursday evening 25-year-old Zahir Visitor was stabbed to death in St John’s Wood, while a man in his 40s was murdered on Friday afternoon in Clapham when he was ambushed by a group of knife wielding men as he sat in his car.
Elsewhere a 24-year-old man was stabbed to death in Birmingham on Friday night and a 29-year-old man died after being stabbed in the neck in Liverpool on Thursday afternoon.
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