London killings 2019 – latest news on knife crime, attacks and statistics
THERE have now been more than 100 violent killings in London - as the bloodshed in the capital show no sign of ending.
Last year was London's bloodiest in a decade - when the number of homicides reached 132 - and the violence continues to plague the capital.
All the knife deaths across London so far this year
As of September 29, there have been 110 violent deaths in the capital.
Twenty-one teens have been killed in the capital this year, 19 of whom were fatally stabbed.
Richard Taylor, 70, father of Damilola Taylor, who was 10 when he was stabbed to death in 2000, said: "This is nothing but a national crisis. Some teenagers see either being murdered or killing another person as a rite of passage when that used to be getting a job or going to university."
This year got off to a bloody start when mum-of-one Charlotte Huggins, 33, was knifed to death at her home in Camberwell, South East London on New Year’s Day.
Just hours later security guard Tudor Simionov, 33, was stabbed outside a VIP sex party in Park Lane, Mayfair.
He was attacked as he tried to stop gatecrashers storming into the private bash.
Tudor had left his native Romania in search of a job and a brighter future in the UK.
His girlfriend said the couple had moved to London just two months before he was killed.
A week later Jaden Moodie, 14, was stabbed to death in East London after being knocked off a moped.
On January 29, another teen Nedim Bilgin, 17, was chased down a busy street in Islington and stabbed several times, while Lajean Richards, 19, a Domino's delivery driver, was knifed repeatedly in a car park outside a four-storey block of flats where he lived with his mum on February 5.
Doting dad-of-one Dennis Anderson, 39, was fatally slashed across the neck outside an off-licence in East Dulwich in a row about cigarettes on February 10.
Bright Akinleye, 22, was stabbed in a street near Euston station on February 18 before staggering into a hotel lobby where he collapsed and died.
On February 21, Glendon Spence, 23, was fatally stabbed at a youth club in Brixton, in South London.
Kamali Gabbidon-Lynck, 19, was killed in Wood Green after being chased into a hair salon the following day.
And on February 25, Spaniard David Lopez-Fernandez, 38, was pronounced dead after being found with stab wounds at a house in Tower Hamlets, East London.
The next day, Che Morrison, 20, died after being stabbed to death outside Ilford station in East London.
On March 1, Jodie Chesney, a 17-year old girl, was fatally stabbed in Harold Hill, Essex, as she listened to music with pals in a park.
Elize Stevens, 50, died of stab wounds in Hendon on March 2 and David Martinez, 26, was stabbed to death in Leyton, East London, on March 6.
He was knifed in the back and neck and left to die in the arms of passers-by after being dragged from his home in broad daylight.
On March, 7, 17-year-old Ayub Hassan was knifed multiple times outside a Waitrose supermarket near West Kensington Tube station.
Nathaniel Armstrong, 29, was fatally knifed in the early hours of Saturday, March 16, in Fulham.
Mr Armstrong's relative, Good Morning Britain's Alex Beresford, had spoken out about knife crime 11 days before the killing.
On March 22, 17-year-old Abdirashid Mohamoud, of Brentford, was stabbed to death near flats in Isleworth, West London, after being chased by two attackers.
In another shocking attack shopkeeper Ravi Katharkamar, 54, was stabbed in the chest while opening his Pinner shop on March 24, and died 45 minutes later.
On March 28, aspiring music producer Zahir Visiter, 25, was reportedly stabbed to death for a £60,000 watch before the knifemen fled into a mosque near Regent's Park.
The next day, dad-of-three Gavin Garraway, 40, was fatally knifed in broad daylight in Clapham, South London, on March 29.
Gavin was knifed through the window of his car in broad daylight before his attackers sprinted away.
His killing came ahead of two days of bloodshed in the capital - with five people stabbed in four days in close proximity to each other in Edmonton, North London, in random attacks.
On April 1, Calvin Bungisa, 22, was chased and attacked in Gospel Oak by four men who kicked and stabbed him to death.
Calvin's family, who described him as a happy man who "was always laughing", had fled war in Congo.
On April 23, 21-year-old Meshak Williams was stabbed to death in a string of four knifings in just seven hours across London.
Joshua White died from injuries after being stabbed in Homerton, Hackney, on April 27.
On May 1, 15-year-old Tashaun Aird, an aspiring music producer, was knifed to death in Hackney. His death made him the youngest person to be killed by a blade attack after Jaden Moodie, 14, was murdered in January.
Four days later Junior McCauley, 18, was chased and stabbed to death as he marked the anniversary of his friend who was shot dead exactly one year ago.
A friend said Junior was meeting friends near Elephant and Castle to pay tribute to Rhyheim Barton, 17, who was gunned down in the borough on May 5 last year.
On May 26, 23-year-old Alimuz Zaman was chased and stabbed up to seven times with a "Rambo Knife" in East London.
Between June 14 and June 18 five people were murdered in just six days in the capital.
David Bello-Monerville, 38, was fatally stabbed outside his Barnet home in the early hours of June 19.
His brother Joseph Burke-Monerville was shot in 2013 in a case of mistaken identity. He was 19.
Their eldest brother, Trevor Monerville, was stabbed to death in 1994, aged 26. No one has been convicted of either killing.
Giedrius Juskauskas, 42, was stabbed to death in Stratford in the early hours of June 16.
That killing followed three homicides in the space of 24 hours, including two teens who were fatally attacked at teatime on June 14.
Cheyon Evans, 18, was found stabbed in Tooting, South West London, at 4.42pm, and died at the scene.
Just 12 minutes later Eniola Aluk, 19, from Thamesmead, South East London, was shot dead in a car park in Plumstead.
On June 15, Gleb Stanislavovitch Zhebrovsky, 34, was stabbed to death in a field next to a nursery and a mosque in Tower Hamlets, East London, just before 2pm.
On June 26 Yusuf Mohamed, 18, was fatally stabbed in the heart while he was out buying milk for his mum.
Three days later, heavily pregnant Kelly Mary Fauvrelle, 26, was found with stab injuries at her home in Thornton Heath, south London. She died at the scene.
Her baby, who her family named Riley at her request, was delivered at the scene but tragically died four days later.
On July 3, Tesfa Campbell, 40, was stabbed to death as he walked down the road in South West London.
On July 5, a man in his 30s was shot dead in Harrow Road, Wembley, while the body of a woman in her 30s was found in a garage in Blackheath, South London, on the same day.
Two days later, Grineo Daka, from Stratford, was shot dead at snooker club in Leyton, while a man in his 20s was found dead in a park in Wembley.
On July 11, Kye Manning, 19, was stabbed to death during fight in Croydon. Just a day earlier, a man in his 20s was stabbed to death in Kidbrooke, South East London.
On July 12, Akbar Arizo, 64, and Layla Arizo, 74, were found fatally stabbed inside their home in South West London.
On July 18, Diane Dyer, 61, was bludgeoned to death at her home in Beckenham.
Robert Komuro, 41, died of head injuries on July 23 in Yiewsley, Hillingdon.
On July 25, Abdullahi Hassan, 20, died during a double stabbing in South Hampstead.
A teenager was arrested over thesuspected "targeted" hit and run of Liam Dent in Chessington on July 26.
Widow Dorothy Woolmer, 89, was battered to death in her home on August 4, before 16-year-old Alex Smith was stabbed to death "with a foot-long machete" in Camden on August 12.
Since that shocking attack five more teens have been knifed to death on the streets of the capital.
Solomon Small, 18, was knifed to death in Brixton on August 15 while Amrou Greenidge, also 18, died in hospital after being deliberately knocked off his bike by a vehicle in Fulham and attacked as he lay on the street.
Santino Angelo Dymiter, 18, from Plaistow, was stabbed to death in Chadd Green, East London, on August 26.
Lee Casey, 39 was fatally knifed on Brixton Hill, South London, on August 29.
Laura Rakstelyte, 31, was killed in Ilford on August 29.
Sandra Samuels, 44, was killed in North London on August 31.
Two fifteen-year-olds Michael Irving and Perry Jordan Brammer both died after suffering multiple stab wounds in West Ham and Tottenham respectively between September 3 and 5.
A woman in her 20s, named locally as Shakira Mercedes, was found stabbed on September 8 in Camden, North London.
Less than a mile away, a man was shot in Kentish Town and pronounced dead at 12.10am on September 9 - with police launching a murder probe.
On September 24, 20-year-old Tashan Daniel was stabbed to death on his way to an Arsenal football match after giving thugs "a weird stare" on a tube platform in West London.
How many stabbings were there in London in 2018?
2018 was London’s bloodiest year in almost a decade as the murder toll reached 132.
There were 73 deaths involving a knife, 13 involving a gun and one a crossbow.
There was a spike in violent crime in February and March, where 18 homicides were recorded each month.
These were the second highest monthly totals recorded since April 2010 and saw London’s murder rate overtake that of New York.
Why is there so much violence in the capital?
One of the reasons why violence in the capital has spread is because of the brutal “county lines trade” where urban dealers force children and other vulnerable people to take drugs to customers in more rural areas.
The National Crime Agency estimate there are more than 1,000 “county lines” in operation – a 40 per cent rise in just one year – raking in an estimated £1.8billion annual profit.
Each county lines route is making as much as £5,000 a day - £7million between them all.
The county lines gangs regularly entice boys, largely from broken homes, into a life of crime with promises of money, kudos and a sense of belonging often lacking in their troubled home lives.
In London itself, gang warfare is increasingly being driven by a ruthless battle to control the drugs market in a move away from “postcode wars”.
Middle class cocaine users have come under fire for helping to fuel this increasingly violent battle in Lawless London.
Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, said the growing demand from well-off users for the Class A drug was leading to a surge in violent gang crime.
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Meanwhile campaign groups said cuts to youth facilities has left disillusioned kids with nowhere to hang out, while cuts to front-line policing has seen the number of bobbies on the beat tumble.
Scotland Yard has seen its annual budget slashed by about 20 per cent since 2011, and it has lost 10 per cent of its officers in that time.
Over the last seven years 81 youth clubs and council youth projects have shut while almost £40million have been cut from youth services.