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Knife mob stab terrified boy, 16, at school bus stop
Justin Davenport and Benedict Moore-Bridger17 Nov 2009
A boy of 16 who was on his way home from school suffered a “horrific” slash wound across the stomach during an attack on a bus in north London.
He was knifed after a row with six or seven youths on a No 279 double decker at Edmonton Green bus station.
Witnesses said he had a gaping wound and was in agony as passers-by including bus drivers helped him until an ambulance arrived. The boy was today described as in a critical but stable condition.
The stabbing took place at about 4.30 yesterday afternoon. A dedicated “transport hub” team of Police and Police Community Support Officers had finished their shift at the bus station about 90 minutes earlier.
Safer Neighbourhood Officers were in the area but another “roving” specialist transport team which had been due to take over was on another operation using a weapons scanning arch and was on its way to the bus station.
One local source said: “The hub team had left earlier. They had covered the school rush for the last two days. It is always the way. Something happens just when you leave.” A bus driver, who asked not to be named, said: “There were about 20 youths at the bus stop. I stayed with the boy until the ambulance came. I was holding his legs down. He was in a lot of pain.”
Scotland Yard said one youth was arrested for conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm but he was expected to be released.
Police said 12 knives had been recovered in the area around the bus station in Edmonton in recent weeks. Police sealed off a large area surrounding the bus station after the attack.
There were claims that the bus station was not staffed by police or PCSOs at the time of the stabbing. A Met spokeswoman said local officers were patrolling the area, but it was not clear if they were at the scene.
The dedicated transport “hub” teams were introduced by Boris Johnson as one of his election pledges and are jointly funded by the Met and the Mayor's Transport for London.
A Met spokeswoman said the policing of Edmonton bus station involved a mix of transport “hub” teams and the local Safer Neighbourhood Teams. In the last seven months knife crime fell by 13 per cent in the capital, with 959 fewer offences than last year. The murder rate is also down but some detectives say more children are using knives and guns in “punishment-style” attacks on other teenagers.
Last year David Idowu, 14, died three weeks after being knifed in the chest and stomach when he was confronted by youths from another school. Friends said David was attacked because he was wearing the royal blue and grey uniform of Walworth Academy in Southwark.
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EDITED by admin @ 12.52 on November 17 2009
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- Dannyp, Egham, 17/11/2009 12:15
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EDITED by admin @ 12.52 on November 17 2009
Court Proceedings
- Mark, London, 17/11/2009 11:16
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