London's murder rate has overtaken New York City's for the first time ever as the twelfth person has been killed in just 19 days.
February marked the first month in history books that London had more murders than the American city with a total of 15 homicides. Out of the 15 killed, nine were aged 30 or younger.
In March, there were 22 murders, which is likely to match if not beat out New York's numbers.
The murder epidemic continued on Sunday when a man in his twenties was fatally stabbed after leaving a bar in Wandsworth, marking the 12th person to be murdered in London in 19 days.
A murder epidemic is sweeping London. On Sunday, an unnamed man in his 20s became the 12th person in just 19 days to be gunned down or stabbed to death in the capital
Police have launched the latest murder investigation in the death of the unnamed young man who was stabbed to death on Easter Sunday.
He suffered a fatal stab wound at around 1:10am on Sunday, after leaving a bar in Wandsworth, south west London.
Met Police attended the scene along with the London Ambulance Service. Despite the best efforts of officers and paramedics, the man was pronounced dead at the scene just before 2am.
Formal identification awaits and a post-mortem examination will take place in due course, but the victim's next-of-kin have been informed.
A 21-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and is currently in custody at a west London police station.
According to a report by the
Sunday Times, New York City's murder statistics have decreased by 87 per cent since the 1990s.
Meanwhile, London's rate has grown by nearly 40 per cent in just three years, not including deaths caused by terrorist attacks.
Although New York last year had nearly double the number of murders than London, experts are concerned the gap is steadily closing.
Officials are concerned about the uptick in fatal stabbings, fearing there is a dangerous surge in knife crime.
Last year there was a total of 80 fatal stabbings in the capital - the most in almost a decade. And official figures show that 2017 was the worst year for knife deaths among young people since at least 2002.
A man has died after being stabbed to death on Sunday morning in Wandsworth. The unnamed victim in his twenties had left a bar and was found with the fatal wound on Ellerton Road at the junction with Burntwood Lane (pictured)
Lyndon Davis (left), 18, the youngest to have been named in March, was found suffering from a single stab wound in Chadwell Heath, east London on March 14. Joseph Williams-Torres (right), 20, was killed the same evening as he sat in a stationary car in Essex Close, Walthamstow
THE 12 DEAD IN JUST 19 DAYS IN LONDON'S MURDER EPIDEMIC
Joseph Williams-Torres, 20, Walthamstow
Lyndon Davis, 18, Chadwell Heath
Russell Jones, 23, Enfield
Hersi Hersi, 36, Hounslow
Tyrone Silcott, 42, Hackney
Balbir Johal, 48, Southall
Jermaine Johnson, 41, Walthamstow
Beniamin Pieknyi, 20, Stratford Centre
Abraham Badru, 26, Hackney
David Potter, 50, Tooting High Street
Unnamed man, 23, Greenwich
Unnamed man, 20s, Wandsworth
-six people aged 25 or under were stabbed to death in London, up by 21 compared with the previous year, according to police figures.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell said on Sunday: 'Sadly, another family has been left devastated with the tragic death of a young man from an act of violence.
'We are appealing to anyone who was in the area to come forward.
'We know that the victim left a bar in Garratt Lane, SW18 at 01:05hrs and then seven minutes later he was found on Ellerton Road at the junction with Burntwood Lane.'
The victim's death comes as London's murder rates have overtaken New York City 's numbers for the first time ever.
The man's death on Sunday marks the 12th murder in London in 19 days.
It also marked the 30th fatal stabbing and brings the grizzly death toll of murders to 44 since January 1.
Lyndon Davis, 18, the youngest to have been killed in March, was found suffering from a single stab wound in Chadwell Heath, east London on March 14.
Joseph Williams-Torres, 20, was killed the same evening as he sat in a stationary car in Essex Close, Walthamstow.
Russell Jones, 23, was ambushed outside shops near Ponders End station, in Enfield and stabbed and shot to death.
Father-of-two Tyrone Silcott, 42, died from knife wounds on March 18 after a St Patrick’s Day party.
It is alleged the car mechanic got into a row over two girls at a party in Homerton and was attacked.
Romanian Beniamin Pieknyi, 20, (pictured) is believed to have jumped in to the fight in a bid to save his friend during the altercation at the Stratford Centre in east London
Hersi Hersi (left), who lived as a trans woman called Naomi, was pronounced dead at the scene after being found with knife injuries at Heathrow Palace in Hounslow. Russell Jones, 23, became the eighth person in a week to be killed in London when he was ambushed outside shops near Ponders End station, Enfield
Hersi Hersi, who lived as a trans woman called Naomi, was pronounced dead at the scene after being found with knife injuries at Heathrow Palace in Haslemere Avenue, Hounslow, at 10.50am on Sunday.
On March 19, Balbir Johal, 48, died after being stabbed in Southall and the next day 41-year-old Jermaine Johnson died of knife wounds in Walthamstow.
Romanian Beniamin Pieknyi, is believed to have jumped in to the fight in a bid to save his friend during the altercation at the Stratford Centre in east London on the 20th.
The 20-year-old, who only arrived in Britain two months ago, died in his best friend's arms after being chased and stabbed by a gang in the busy shopping centre.
On March 25, 26-year-old Abraham Badru was gunned down in Hackney.
The university graduate, who was murdered in Dalston, east London, on Sunday, was awarded the National Police Bravery Award in July 2009.
David Potter, 50, was found stabbed to death in a property on Tooting High Street on Monday 26.
And an unnamed 23-year-old in Greenwich was killed on Thursday night, the final murder for the month of March.
London's murder rate has overtaken New York City's numbers for the first time ever. In February, there were 15 murders, including 17-year-old Promise Nkenda (pictured), who was run over and stabbed to death
Lewis Blackman (left) was stabbed to death after a party in Kensington on February 18. Kwabena Nelson, 22, (right) was ambushed outside his home in Tottenham and stabbed to death in early February
Aspiring accountant Sadiq Aadam Mohamed, 20, was found with serious stab wounds in Malden Road, in Belsize Park, in February
THE 15 MURDER VICTIMS OF FEBRUARY
Sadiq Mohamed, 20, Kentish Town
Abdikarim Hassan, 17, Kentish Town
Josef Boci, 30, Greenwich
Seyed Khan, 49, Ilford
Rotimi Oshibanjo, 26, Southall
Promise Nkenda, 17, Canning Town
Sabri Chibani, 19, Streatham Common
Lewis Blackman, 19, Kensington
Hasan Ozcan, 19, Barking
Hannah Leonard, 55, Swiss Cottage
Kwabena Nelson, 22, Tottenham
Mark Smith, 48, Chingford
Bulent Kabala, 41, Enfield
Saeeda Hussain, 54, Ilford
Juan Olmos Saca, 39, Peckham
Jacob Whittingham, charity head of programmes for Fight for Peace, told the Sunday Times: 'What's scary about London is the randomness of the crime.
'With young people in London, you have no idea if and when you may be the victim of a violent crime — that's why they feel the need to carry weapons.'
DCS Sean Yates, Scotland Yard's head of knife crime, blamed social media as an increasing factor in escalating grudges between youngsters that led to knife attacks.
He also said courts were failing to enforce a 'two strikes' law aimed at jailing those caught with a knife twice, which was frustrating law enforcement.
The sharp rise in the number of young people killed by knife crime in London has come despite Scotland Yard stepping up its use of suppression and enforcement tactics, carrying out more stop and search, more weapon sweeps and other activity on the streets.
The Met commissioner, Cressida Dick, has said reversing rising violent crime is a priority.
Speaking in February she said: 'The frequency with which some of our young people are prepared to take each other's lives is shocking.
'London must come together to make it clear that this cannot continue. We will not police our way out of this problem.'
Cressida Dick continued: 'There is a role for all of us – London's public, our partners and the police.'
She appealed directly to young people saying: 'There will be young people out today who are carrying knives - stop and think.
'Do you really want your life to end? Or end someone else's and waste your own life in prison?
'My challenge to everyone in London is to ask each and every person to think about what you can do to help us tackle this blight on our city.'
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan requested an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister and Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service to discuss what can be done 'to tackle the evil of knife attacks on Britain's streets'.
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