Multiple shootings and multiple stabbings happen within 30 minutes of each other just five miles apart. Authorities say there's no link, but could this be one?
Londoners woke up to a grim reality this Sunday, as two violent incidents unfolded within half an hour and a few miles of each other. The terror which unfolded left two men dead and four others injured, the chilling proximity of these new attacks underscores just how dangerous and violent the capital has become: with native Londoners not able to feel safe in their own neighbourhoods.
Fatal Shooting
The morning began with a fatal shooting near Wells Park Road in Sydenham, south-east London. Police were called to the scene at 10:10 BST after reports of a shooting in the residential area.
Officers discovered a man dead from gunshot wounds, alongside a woman who had been shot in the legs. A third victim, also suffering from gunshot injuries, later arrived at the hospital. The shoot reportedly then went on the run, and is still at large, adding to heightened tensions of local residents. Police have not confirmed a motive, leaving the local community shocked and fearful.
Commander Peter Stevens of the Metropolitan Police condemned the violence, calling it a “senseless act” and promised to do everything in his power to bring the perpetrators to justice. Additional officers and forensic experts have been deployed to the area, with police cordons in place as investigations continue. Despite reassurances, expressed fears over what appears to be an escalation in violent crime in areas once deemed relatively safe.
Fatal Stabbing
Just 30 minutes later 10:40 BST, another emergency call came through to the Metropolitan Police. This time, from five miles down the road in East Street in Walworth. Officers responded to reports of multiple stabbings that left another man dead and two further victims injured. A suspect believed to be in his 60s was arrested at the scene, but details surrounding the motive for the attack remain murky.
The violence in East Street Market left eyewitnesses traumatised, as once again, local residents watched their once peaceful community turned into another crime scene. “It was terrifying,” said Siraj, 46, who witnessed the aftermath of the stabbing and has now voiced concerns for his family’s safety, especially when sending his children to school.
The Met has assured the public that the two incidents are unrelated. Offering stock-book phrases immediately, with the stabbings said to be 'no terror related, and the attacker having mental illness'.
With such attacks occurring back-to-back and within close proximity, many Londoners find it hard to accept that these events were isolated. These consecutive acts of violence underscore a grim trend in the capital: people no longer feel secure, even in broad daylight, within their own communities.
There is, however, a likely common denominator in these two violent attacks: That of immigration. South East London is now overwhelmingly inhabited by first and second generation immigrants and is rife with both gang violence, and trouble between ethnic groups, something that authorities go to great lengths to disguise and conceal for fear of having to confront the reality.
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