Two British teenagers have been stabbed to death in Manchester’s Moss Side and Croydon, south London, in the latest spate of violent attacks in the UK, reports say.
One 18-year-old man, who was not named yet, was stabbed along with three other people, who sustained wounds, in a fight on Crosshill Road on Tuesday night before 8.40 pm, police officials say.
“We completely understand that the community will be concerned after waking up and hearing this tragic news this morning. I want to assure you we have had officers on the ground working solidly through the night trying to get to the bottom of what has happened,” Supt Dave Pester, of Greater Manchester Police, said.
“We are in the very early stages of this investigation and we are trying to understand the motive behind this attack and who is responsible,” Pester added.
At about 11 pm Tuesday, another man was stabbed in Georgia Road, near the junction with Green Lane, Thornton Heath.
Police officers arrived at the scene, but the the man was pronounced dead shortly after. Police opened an investigation into the incident.
Twenty-one people, including children and teenagers, were killed between January and July this year by violence involving knives.
There was an increase of 20 percent in knife crime incidents in the 12 months to March, reaching 34,703, the highest in seven years, the latest official crime figures show.
The latest stabbing death came one day after 11 men were convicted of killing Abdulwahab Hafidah, an 18- year-old who was killed last year a few minutes’ walk away from the place where the new victim was stabbed to death.
“I want to make it clear, at this stage there isn’t any information to suggest this stabbing is linked to a murder trial which finished at Preston crown court yesterday,” Pester noted.
In addition to stabbing attacks, there have also been a spate of acid attacks in the country, prompting the UK government to take measures to tackle the issue.