An elderly man who had been riding a mobility scooter in west London has been stabbed to death. Metropolitan Police officers were called at 4.06pm on Tuesday to Cayton Road, Greenford, to reports of a man with stab injuries, and despite the efforts of paramedics he was declared dead at the scene.
Police are working to inform the next of kin of the man, who is believed to have been in his 80s, and there have been no arrests. The Met said: “A crime scene is in place and urgent inquiries to establish what happened are ongoing.”
The London Ambulance Service was called out at 4.10pm. A spokesman said: “We sent a number of resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, a medic in a fast response car and an incident response officer.
"We also dispatched London’s Air Ambulance. Sadly, despite the best efforts of our crews, a person was pronounced dead at the scene.”
Detective Chief Inspector Jim Eastwood from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command said: “My officers are working to understand what has happened to this man, and we need the public’s assistance. I’m asking for anyone with dashcam or cycle-helmet footage to contact us if they were using the Western Avenue A40 eastbound in the proximity of Cayton Road and Welland Gardens between 3.15pm and 4pm.
“The elderly victim, who was riding a mobility scooter, was in the area at the time. If you saw the victim, or captured anyone acting suspiciously in the area, it is imperative that you make contact.”
Chief Superintendent Sean Wilson, lead for policing in Ealing, said: “This is an awful incident that will understandably cause considerable alarm to people locally and across London. Our thoughts are with the elderly victim.
“We are supporting our colleagues in Specialist Crime as they work to understand what has happened and identify who is responsible for this horrific crime. The support of the public is crucial.
"Police and the community must work together to identify violent offenders and remove them from our streets. My officers will remain on scene. They are there to help and protect you – if you have information that you want to share please approach them and tell them what you know.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan tweeted: “I’m devastated that an elderly man was killed in a horrific attack this evening. My thoughts are with the victim’s loved ones.
“I’m in close contact with @MetPoliceUK who have an additional uniformed presence in the area. I urge anyone with information to come forward.”
So far this year there have been 58 homicides in London including this stabbing of a pensioner on his mobility scooter.
Simran Advani, 25, a senior property manager who lives near to where the stabbing took place, said she often saw an elderly man on his mobility scooter who “always used to smile”.
She told the PA news agency: “He was a nice old man. He often goes round the block, he always went on the road not the pavement.”
She added: “This is a very quiet area, you never hear any noise on this street. It’s scary for a man in his 80s to be killed here. Most people on this road are elderly, you never hear any noise and never see any young people.”
Forensic experts in blue overalls could be seen loading bags containing various items into police vans as dozens of officers guarded the scene. A police cordon had been thrown over the site of residential semi-detached houses. It covers a T-junction between Cayton Road and Runnymede Gardens, which runs parallel to the busy A40.
Two blue, yellow and white crime scene tents marked “MPS” were pitched up next to the A40 on Runnymede Gardens, where forensic officers were working under bright lights on the road surface.
Another neighbour, who did not wish to give his name, told PA: “It’s not nice, it’s normally quiet here. It’s out of the way.
“I feel sorry for his family – I’m not entirely shocked with the amount of stabbing you hear on the news. There are not many people coming and going, there’s not really any foot traffic.
"There’s playing fields and a school nearby. A lot of people park their cars here.”
He said there was a bus stop nearby, but “other than that not many people are walking around here”.
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