17-year-old becomes 11th fatal stabbing victim in London in a fortnight

Spate of knife killings prompts police crackdown

Stabbing purportedly happened after a fight in a supermarket car park (PA)

A 17-year-old has been stabbed to death in Walthamstow in east London, becoming the 11th person to die of knife wounds in the capital in two weeks.

The teenager was rushed to hospital late on Sunday night after he was found on Walthamstow High Street, following reports of a stabbing. He died a short while later, Scotland Yard said.

Detectives from the Metropolitan police’s homicide and major crime command have launched a murder investigation. A formal identification has yet to take place.

Ahmed Ahmed, 30, owner of a nearby cafe told the Evening Standard: “It was a fight in the Lidl car park.

“This is the area groups of young people get together. We have been asking police to do something about it.”

It was the second fatal stabbing in London over the weekend. Police on Monday were appealing for witnesses to come forward after a 23-year-old man who was found stabbed in Uxbridge at 1am on Saturday morning died.

On Friday, 35-year-old father-of-two, Crispin Siddon, was fatally wounded after an argument broke out inside a salon in Harlesden, north west London.

A spate of fatal stabbings has prompted Scotland Yard to renew its Operation Sceptre campaign against knife crime. An 80-member task force has been allocated to tackle knife crime.

The crackdown resulted in 822 stop and searches, 1,080 weapon sweeps, 393 arrests and 377 weapons being taken off the streets, the Met said on Monday.

Schools are also being encouraged to install metal detectors to prevent children from bringing knives to school. Some 15 children have been killed in the UK so far this year.