London Police Hunt for Killer of 14-Year-Old Boy Stabbed to Death on Bus
London’s Metropolitan Police is intensifying its search for the killer of a 14-year-old boy who was brutally stabbed to death on a bus in the city’s southeast. The student was found at the scene in Woolwich, where he was treated by onlookers before dying shortly after paramedics arrived, according to the police statement.
The incident occurred at around 2:30 pm on January 7, when a local police officer on patrol was alerted to a stabbing on a bus, the police said. The victim suffered multiple stab wounds and despite receiving treatment at the scene, died shortly after the paramedics arrived.
As of the evening of the same day, no arrests had been made, but the police were working “at a high pace” to identify and apprehend the suspects, the statement added.
The UK has seen a regular surge in fatal knife attacks, with the government describing the issue as a national crisis. According to a recent analysis of data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the number of knife crimes in the UK rose by 7% in 2023 compared to the previous year.
In September, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote on Facebook, “Knife crime is a national crisis that we must tackle resolutely. Our coalition to combat knife crime brings together politicians, families of victims, young people, and community leaders to drive our mission to reclaim our streets and halve knife crime in the next decade.”
The Independent, citing the Press Association (PA), reported that in the past year, ten teenagers were killed in London, nine of them by stabbing and one by a shooting.
The incident occurred a day after an 18-year-old man was stabbed near a school in the same area of London.