London’s epidemic in violent crime has worsened even further, with a 17-year-old girl being shot dead in Tottenham and two other youths being seriously harmed three miles away. The boys are 15 and 16 years old, with one getting shot and the other stabbed.
According to the London Evening Standard, the incidents occurred late Monday night. Authorities were called to the north London district of Tottenham after a shooting was reported, arriving on scene to find the teenage girl in question suffering from a gunshot wound on a residential street near Northumberland Park station. She was reportedly speaking with friends when an automobile drove by and opened fire.
Despite the best efforts of London Ambulance Service paramedics, the girl’s life lasted just over an hour before she was pronounced deceased. A Scotland Yard spokesperson confirmed that the teen’s parents have been informed, and that they are most certainly treating this as a criminal matter. However, no arrests have yet been made.
Half an hour later, police were alerted to another shooting which took place in east London, with the victim being a 16-year-old boy. Although he is currently still alive, his wounds are said to be critical and paramedics are struggling to keep him stable.
This is where a 17-year-old girl was fatally shot last night in Tottenham. A witness tells me he heard three gunshots and thinks her Mum was with her when it happened @LBC pic.twitter.com/tBlDZWzQxm
— Rachael Venables (@rachaelvenables) April 3, 2018
The wounded 15-year-old also found in east London had been subjected to a brutal stabbing. There is currently no update on his condition. Authorities say they are looking into whether these attacks had any link between them, but they have yet to find any definitive connection.
As reported by the Guardian, Member of Parliament David Lammy admits that violence in the nation’s capital is “worse than ever.” He and many other of London’s anti-violence campaigners blame the city’s law enforcement officials for the shocking increase in shootings and stabbings, saying that police have “failed to get a grip” on just how serious this matter is.
The 17-year-old girl was indeed the 47th suspected murder victim this year, a statistic which has sent most of London’s residents into something of a panic. They have become fearful for their lives due to the rampant gang attacks plaguing the city on almost a daily basis, not wanting to go out at night or even in broad daylight sometimes due to the frequency of this violence and the amount of unsuspecting victims who simply end up being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
London mayor Sadiq Khan has also been brought under fire for the recent epidemic, with his critics believing there is a lot more he could do to protect the capital city’s citizens. Khan has held office since 2016, with the death toll certainly seeming to rise since his election.