LONDON: Two teenagers have been charged with the murder of an 18-year-old man who was stabbed to death in London during a weekend which saw three men killed in separate attacks in less than 24 hours.
A 17-year-old from Merton, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and Mohammed Nadir Dafallah, 18, from Wandsworth, south-west London, were charged on Sunday. They will appear in custody at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Monday June 17.
Scotland Yard said four other people — aged between 16 and 19 years old — have been released under investigation. Some 17 people have been arrested following several violent incidents, which saw two teenagers killed within minutes each other on Friday.
The spate of attacks led to criticism of Sadiq Khan from Donald Trump, who called the London mayor a “disaster”. Retweeting a post by right-wing commentator Katie Hopkins about the killings, the US president said the capital needed a new mayor “ASAP”.
The original post by Hopkins called the capital “Stab-City” and “Khan’s Londonistan” alongside two screenshots of BBC News articles detailing the violence. A City Hall spokesman said Khan was focusing on supporting communities and he was “not going to waste his time” responding to the president’s tweet.
Emergency services were called to Deeside Road in Wandsworth at 4.42pm on Friday afternoon where the 18-year-old victim was found stabbed and died at the scene. In a second incident in a different part of London just minutes later, armed police were called to Hartville Road in Plumstead at 4.54pm to reports of a shooting.
The victim, Eniola Aluko, 19, from Thamesmead, south-east London, was found with critical injuries and died at the scene a short while later. A post-mortem examination on Saturday gave the cause of death as a single gunshot wound to the neck and chest.
An 18-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder on Saturday, while three male teenagers and a 17-year-old girl who were arrested on suspicion of murder on Friday have since been bailed pending further enquiries.
Khan said he was “sickened” following the murder of the two teenage boys. On Saturday afternoon, police officers and London Ambulance Service attended reports of an injured man at Alton Street in Tower Hamlets, east London, just before 2pm.
The man, in his 30s, had been stabbed and was pronounced dead at the scene — a field next to a children’s nursery and a mosque — some 40 minutes after. Just over an hour later, officers were called to North Square in Edmonton Green at 3.30pm to reports of an injured man. Paramedics and an air ambulance attended the scene where a man, in his mid-40s, had been knifed in the chest. He was taken to a north London hospital where his condition is critical but stable. Three men were also stabbed in a separate attack in Clapham, south-west London.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matthew Twist said: “Firstly, our thoughts are with all the victims’ families and friends who are facing the most devastating tragedy imaginable this weekend and indeed to their wider communities.
“We made a significant number of arrests in relation to the various incidents and officers are undertaking further activities, following up additional investigative leads to ensure that we achieve justice for the families of those affected by violence in the last few days.
“We have increased the coverage of the Violent Crime Task Force in targeted areas across London this weekend and officers from across the boroughs, supported by colleagues from specialist units, will continue to undertake high-visibility patrols which will remain in place today and into the start of the week.” He urged anyone with information about the attacks or about someone they suspect to be carrying a weapon to contact the Metropolitan Police.