Three people were stabbed to death in separate incidents in east London over a period of less than eight hours as the bank holiday weekend began on Friday.
Murder investigations began after the deaths of an 18-year-old and a man in his late 20s, the Met police said, while detectives are still hunting for the killers of a 16-year-old who was ambushed as he left school and stabbed to death.
On Friday night, a teenager was stabbed to death after two groups were reported to have been fighting with machetes near Dagenham Heathway tube station.
Police and the London ambulance service were called shortly before midnight and found an 18-year-old with stab injuries, who died at the scene despite the efforts of the emergency services to save him.
A second man was taken to hospital with a stab injury, and a 20-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder and is in police custody.
DCI James Shirley said his thoughts were with the young man’s family and friends.
“I want to offer my full reassurances to them, and the wider community, that despite the significant events taking place in London today, the focus of my team is bringing the person or people responsible to justice,” he said.
The capital has been exceptionally busy with King Charles’s coronation, a significant anti-monarchy counter protest as well as the usual bank holiday revelry.
Shirley added: “Our investigation is progressing at pace and I would thank everyone who has already spoken to officers. I would ask anyone who has not yet come forward to do so as a matter of urgency. I would also ask local residents to check dashcams and doorbell footage for anything out of the ordinary and share that with us as soon as possible.”
Also on Friday, a man was fatally stabbed at a residential property on Mare Street, Hackney. Police were called at 11.07pm on Friday and found a man in his late 20s, who was declared dead at the scene.
Three people were arrested on suspicion of murder. Two men, one in his 40s and the other in his 50s, and one woman in her 50s have been arrested on suspicion of murder.
They were taken to east London police stations where they remain for questioning, the Met said on Saturday.
Meanwhile, no arrests have yet been made after a 16-year-old boy was stabbed while leaving Kelmscott school, Walthamstow, by attackers who an eyewitness said were waiting for him. The school’s headteacher, Sam Jones, said in a statement that the attack marked the “darkest of days” for the community.
Road closures and cordons remain in place around the scene.
