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Two teenage boys stabbed ... it's just another day of gang warfare in Peckham
Benedict Moore-Bridger, Evening Standard14.05.08
Two teenagers stabbed less than a mile apart are the latest victims of London's escalating gang violence.
The boys, both 18, were attacked within half an hour in south-east London in what are believed to be tit-for-tat knifings.
The first attack happened in a fast-food restaurant in Rye Lane, Peckham, at 5pm on Monday.
Thirty minutes later, a second boy was stabbed in front of a group of children as he made his way to a friend's house on the North Peckham estate - where schoolboy Damilola Taylor was fatally stabbed in November 2000.
Witnesses described how a gang of 10 masked teenagers rushed into Morleys Chicken in Rye Lane to assault three rivals in a planned attack.
Terrified diners fled in terror as the thugs, believed to be part of an Old Kent Road gang, stormed the building wearing bandannas, dark sunglasses and baseball caps. One worker, who asked not to be named, said the victim was pinned down while he was stabbed. He said: "He had come in with friends and was sitting on a table waiting for food when about 10 of them rushed in and attacked them.
They were all younger than 20. They were fighting and kicking, then one got him round the neck and another came in and stabbed him in the side. Then they all disappeared on bicycles. It was obviously planned.
"The guy was bleeding and stumbled outside and fell in the road. One customer helped him and tied his jacket around him.
"A girl who was in the shop seemed to know them - she said they were an Old Kent Road gang. Things like this happen all the time."
Barely 30 minutes later, a second 18-year-old was knifed by two men who pulled up in a car on the North Peckham estate.
Children as young as seven who were playing outside saw the injured victim stumbling and holding his chest following the daylight attack.
Lennox Jackson, 52, who lives on the estate, said his son had seen the violence.
"They drove up in a car, a Renault Laguna, and parked further down the street," Mr Jackson said.
"The kids were playing football outside. My son saw him holding his chest. Then all the police turned up."
Another witness told how the boy was taken into his friend's house for treatment before being taken to hospital.
She said: "I heard screaming. I came outside and he was sitting up on the wall as the paramedics were trying to help him. All the neighbours came out."
Residents said the attack could have been retribution for the earlier incident.
Both teenagers were last night in a stable condition in hospital.
Police were today searching for a 16-year-old believed to be responsible for the first stabbing.
A spokesman for Scotland Yard said officers were keeping an open mind as to the motives of the stabbing but said they were examining the possibility they were gang-related.
Reader views (9)
I am really disappointed at the tone of this article which only makes the task of those people undertaking a lot of good work in Peckham that much harder. Why is it that some sections of the media seem to think that crime is the only issue worth reporting in Peckham? Your headline grabber states 'just another day of gang warfare in Peckham' which strongly implies this is an endemic problem in just one part of this city. That is not fair. Where are the statistics to support this or the assessment of local police chiefs? If we want to address these sort of issues then we need to first recognise that violent youth crimes are being committed across the city and do not necessarily involve a gun or a knife. There are no 'safe havens' or borders and no easy solutions either!
I am not for one minute pretending that there are not pockets of trouble in Peckham, but when you have a new Mayor that still hasn't decided whether he will honour previous commitments to invest in this area's basic infrastructure, then the task of addressing some of these issues is made all the more difficult. The Cross River Tram was promised years ago but has been consistently delayed and we still don't know if Boris supports this scheme or not! This is despite the fact that the project was partly designed to address a chronic public transport deficit in areas of south London, improving the prospects for younger people in the process. Crossrail does not face such indifference!
- Phil, Peckham
Dan, Camden London..
Whilst we're at it lets throw the predominately white in this country paedophiles into the army in Iraq. Let them try hand to hand combat with a bayonet, that will separate the men from the boys.
- Sam, Lewisham
Stick them in a pitt like Gladiator times and let
them fight it out. This sort of scum have no conscience. Education or even prison
does not seem to work for these type of half wits. See what the do gooders have done.
There is to many people living in London to take control of the situation.
- Brian Dean, London UK
Dan, The British Army has no vacancies for vermin like this believe me. One of the numerous reasons we're under strength is because we won't drop our standards over who is allowed to join. We're a professional organization, d'ye really think we'd have scum like this amongst us?
- British Soldier, Catterick Garrison
Dan! as black British woman I agree wholeheartedly with your comments.
We should send these little boys who think their men with a weapon to Iraq.
See how quick they Change their attitude.
I don't want my son turning out like one of these trash ghetto hoodlum.
The sooner we get rid of these weak little rats the better.
They bring shame on the decent black folks that are studying for a better future.
- Sandra, Hampshire
I resent my taxes being used like this. I work really hard to make my living and can't afford very much, certainly not holidays; these cretins don't do a thing except steal and stab and torment humans and animals and they get ambulances, housing, food for nothing - courtesy of the taxpayer. Get it stopped, Boris. Thank you.
- Helen, Norwich
Is this Europe? This doesn't even happen in third world Latinamerican countries I've just visited. These blacks have some gene in them that makes them violent.
- Rosie, London
Why throw the problem to the Army? The last thing we want is to have our already struggling volunteers have even more problems to deal with as they would have to if we were expected to work around these walking adverts for abortion. It is youths like these that provide a firm argument against conscription, as they lack any kind of respect for authority and would decrease operational efficiency tenfold.
- Karl, SE London, UK
Enough is enough these Black on Black gangs need to be disbanded and thrown into the army in Iraq. Let them try hand to hand combat with a bayonet, that will separate the men from the boys.
These black gangs operate in groups for their own safety and bravado.
- Dan, Camden London
