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Family release first picture of son stabbed to death in bedsit
Jack Lefley andRob Singh16 Jul 2008
This is the first picture of the latest teenager to be killed in London.
Melvin Bryan was stabbed to death during a row at a bedsit two days before his 19th birthday. He staggered into the street and collapsed in front of horrified passers-by in Edmonton.
Mr Bryan was the 20th teenager to be killed in the capital this year and the 16th to be fatally knifed.
Today his family released a photo showing him on his way to a job interview in January. He got the sales role but quit weeks later.
His mother, Sharon, was said to still be in shock at her home in Honor Oak today.
Ms Bryan was said to be struggling to cope with her son's death and sleeping much of the time.
She has spoken of her fear that the knife violence blighting London will never stop and that teenagers will continue to be killed at an alarming rate.
Her son was repeatedly stabbed in the neck and chest during the fight in Gloucester Road, close to Silver Street railway station, at about 2.30pm last Thursday.
One member of the public who saw him collapse in the street was physically sick because of the severity of his injuries.
Mr Bryan's death came on a day of carnage when four people were stabbed and killed within 24 hours.
The deaths came in the wake of the Met launching a special 75-man task force as part of Operation Blunt 2 to deal with knife crime. This was introduced followingthe deaths of Ben Kinsella and Shakilus Townsend, both 16, who were killed within days of each other.
Two men, aged 23 and 28, were arrested on Monday in Green Lanes, Finsbury Park, in connection with Mr Bryan's death.
A 26-year-old woman and a 34-year-old man arrested earlier were released without charge.
Meanwhile detectives investigating the murder of 42-year-old Latvian Genadijs Jaronis, who was stabbed to death last Thursday in Tottenham, have arrested a fourth man.
A 21-year-old man was arrested late last night and will be questioned today.
Anyone with information about the murders should call police on 020 8345 3715 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
