Stabbed boy, 15, dies in stairwell in mirror of Damilola Taylor murder

The 15-year-old victim, who was named last night as Lyle Tulloch, was found slumped in a stairwell on an estate in Borough, South London.

Four teenage boys – two 17-year-olds, a 16-year-old and a 15-year-old – were arrested on suspicion of murder.

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Lyle, from Peckham, is the latest victim of London's gun and knife crime epidemic, which has claimed the lives of 38 teenagers since the start of 2007.

News of the killing came just hours after Boris Johnson was elected London Mayor, following a campaign that highlighted the urgent need to tackle knife crime in the capital.

Mr Johnson described Lyle's death as tragic and said: "I think this problem of kids growing up without boundaries and getting lost in tragic and self-destructive choices is the number one issue we face in this city.

"It is the job of me as Mayor to lead the fight-back against it and that is what I want to do and I hope you will all join me in doing it."

The latest murder mirrors that of Damilola Taylor, the ten-year-old Nigerian boy who was stabbed on the stairwell of an estate in Peckham – less than a mile away – in 2000.

Police are investigating whether Lyle was attending a party at the six-storey Newall House block of flats.

Detective Chief Inspector Mick Duthie, who is leading the investigation, said: "There was certainly a party going on in the block of flats. We believe there were about a dozen teenagers there.

"Whether Lyle was there we do not know. This is what we are looking at.

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"This was a vicious attack. We are treating it as murder." Primary school teacher Harriet Mangeni, 45, last night described the terrifying moment she came across Lyle lying in a pool of blood.

She said: "I was woken by the screams of two girls. They were in hysterics.

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"I went out on to the balcony and saw the boy lying on the floor.

"He had a wound in his stomach. The wound was deep and it was obvious he was dead. I recognised the girls as living in the block of flats. The murder victim appeared to be a friend of theirs."

Taner Fikret, 22, who lives on the estate, said it was a quiet, family-orientated area. He added: "It is quite a way for Boris to start his reign as Mayor.

"I really hope he can sort this sort of problem out."

The Metropolitan Police last night appealed for anyone with any information to ring the incident room on 020 8721 4155.