LONDON: Four young men were stabbed to death in unrelated incidents inLondon on New Year´s Eve, while a fifth is in a critical condition inhospital, police said Monday.
The unusually concentrated spate of violence will add to growing concernsabout knife crime in the British capital, which is at its highest level forfive years.
At least 80 people were killed in stabbings in London in 2017, more thanhalf of them under the age of 25.
Detectives launched four separate murder investigations into the overnightattacks, which took place away from the city centre, where more than100,000 people had gathered to watch the New Year´s Eve fireworks.
An 18-year-old man was stabbed in Enfield, north London, late on Sundayevening, and later died in hospital. Five men have been arrested, policesaid.
Earlier, at around 7.30 pm (1930 GMT), a 20-year-old man was stabbed inWest Ham in east London, while in Tulse Hill, in the south, a 17-year-oldboy was killed at around 10:40 pm.
In the early hours of Monday morning, a 20-year-old man was fatally stabbedin Old Street, a busy area filled with bars and clubs east of the citycentre.
A second man in his 20s was hurt in the same incident, and was taken tohospital suffering critical stab injuries.
“It is heart-breaking that, at a time when so many of us are contemplatingwhat lies ahead in 2018, four families are dealing with the grief of losinga loved one to senseless violence and the callous use of knives as lethalweapons,” said police commander Neil Jerome.
Police registered almost 12,100 knife attacks in London in the year toMarch 2017, which left more than 4,400 people injured — the highestfigures in five years.
A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police said Monday that 77 people diedfrom knife crime in the city between January 1, 2017, and December 22.
In November, Mayor Sadiq Khan´s office revealed that 40 of those killedsince the start of the year were under the age of 25.
Khan has launched a major campaign to reduce knife crime, including givingsome high-risk schools metal detectors, while the government is alsolooking into tougher measures for people carrying knives.