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A schoolboy who was stabbed to death in London was attacked with a zombie-style knife just two days before a ban against the deadly weapons comes into force.
The 15-year-old was found in a “massive pool of blood” in Eglinton Road, Woolwich, south-east London at around 6.30pm on Sunday, as he pleaded “don’t let me die” shortly before passing away.
The Metropolitan Police has now launched a murder investigation while issuing a warning over zombie-style knives, with detectives believing one was used in the attack on the teenager.
It comes before new legislation comes into force tomorrow making it illegal to possess the knives and machetes in England and Wales.
Speaking outside Plumstead Police Station on Monday, chief superintendent Trevor Lawry said: “The fact a 15-year-old teenager who had his whole life ahead of him has been taken from his family in this way is a stark and sobering reminder of the danger of zombie-style knives.
“We are committed to doing everything in our power to taking these weapons off the streets. If you live in the area do you have any CCTV, doorbell cameras or dash cam footage?”
On Monday, a white forensic tent was put up in Eglinton Road while police officers could be seen searching the area and speaking to neighbours.
One witness, who did not want to be named, said she was in her bedroom when a person across the road screamed “someone’s been stabbed, someone’s been stabbed”.
The 43-year-old said that she grabbed a sheet and ran outside without shoes and socks, before finding the boy face down on the floor.
He had a gash on his head and a “massive pool of blood” by his leg and was pleading with her not to let him die, she added.
The woman said that she stemmed the flow of blood until paramedics arrived, but the teenager sadly passed away shortly after.
“He could have been my son,” she later said while sobbing. A neighbour offered comfort by giving her a hug and saying: “We tried our best”.
The government announced a ban on zombie knives earlier this year which is due to come into force on Tuesday.
It is part of efforts to reduce knife crime, with campaigners including actor Idris Elba among those pushing for the large blades to be outlawed.
The new legislation closes a loophole to an initial ban on the knives first imposed in 2016.
From Tuesday, the banned knives will be defined as “any bladed weapon over eight inches in length with a plain cutting edge and sharp pointed end that also has either a serrated cutting edge, more than one hole in the blade, or multiple sharp points like spikes”.
It ends a loophole that meant the weapon could be kept and sold if it did not have images depicting violence.
Data obtained by the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act showed that in 2023 machetes, swords and zombie knives were mentioned in more than 14,000 crimes recorded by 32 police forces in England and Wales.
In 2019, there were 7,159 offences recorded as involving the large blades, which rose to 14,195 in 2023.
Nearly 10,000 of the offences recorded in 2023 involved machetes, double the number from five years before, the broadcaster reported.
Chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council Gavin Stephens has welcomed the ban, but said enforcement is only one part of reducing knife crime.
He said: “We’re acutely conscious that bans and the legislation and enforcement is only one part of the equation, and we know that there’s a lot for us to do across the full range of our policing activities to deter young people from violence.
“We’re not going to solve the problem of knife crime just by one aspect of it.”
