A teenage boy has been stabbed to death on a bus in London in what police have called a “horrendous” crime.
Metropolitan Police are appealing for help after the daylight attack on the bus in Woolwich in the city’s south east just before 2.30pm on Tuesday (local time).
London Ambulance Service and London Air Ambulance tried to save the 14-year-old but he died.
Louise Sargent, the Deputy Commander for the South East BCU which covers the Woolwich area (Supplied)
The victim was killed on the 472 bus on Woolwich Church Street near the junction with the A205 South Circular Road in Woolwich.
A local officer out on patrol raised the alarm, Deputy Commander for the South East BCU Superintendent Louise Sargent said.
“Our thoughts at this time are with the victim’s family and friends,” Sargent said.
“This is a horrendous crime and I can’t imagine what they must be going through right now.
“No arrests have been made at this early stage, but we are working at pace to identify and arrest those involved.”
The victim was killed on the 472 bus on Woolwich Church Street near the junction with the A205 South Circular Road in London.. (Google Maps) Police have stepped up patrols in the area, with Sargent saying it will be “a worrying time… all the more so given the very young age of the victim.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan called the stabbing “appalling”.
Local MP Matthew Pennycook said he was “deeply saddened” by the incident. London has a major knife crime problem, with 225 murders involving a knife occurring in the 12 months to June 2024, according to The Office for National Statistics.
It says 75 young people aged under 25 were murdered with a knife or sharp object in the 12 months to March 2023.Ten of the victims were aged under 16.
