A few minutes pass... another two teenagers are stabbed...

Published: 05 August, 2010
by CHARLOTTE CHAMBERS

TWO teenagers were stabbed within minutes of each other in Gospel Oak at the weekend.

Detectives investigating the attacks, which took place between midnight and 1am on Saturday, say they are looking into whether the two are linked, but are keeping an “open mind” over possible motives.

Detective Inspector John Marriott said one victim was from the area and the other was from east London. He said the victims have not “engaged” with the police investigation so far. 

He appealed for witnesses and pledged to step up police presence in the area – particularly over this weekend when the Queen’s Crescent Community Festival takes place. CCTV which covers the area did not capture the incidents, he added.

A businessman in the area reported watching up to 20 youths brawling at the junction of Malden Road and Prince of Wales Road before one 18-year-old was stabbed in the back. He was rushed to hospital with a punctured lung – deemed life-threatening – but his condition later stabilised.

The other youth, also 18, was knifed in the chest at around 12.30am as he was chased along Willes Road and left with a two-inch stab wound, police said.

Witnesses have told police the stabbing in Malden Road was carried out by a group of youths who drove up in a vehicle before ambushing the victim, who they chased along the street and stabbed in the back. 

Some reported seeing the youths jump from a black cab.

The businessman, who didn’t want to be named, said the row was sparked after one gang from the Cumberland Market estate, known as the Cumbo Boys, insulted the Queen’s Crescent Elders, a gang from Queen’s Crescent, in an online forum. 

This lead to the gang from Queen’s Crescent retaliating, he said, and a meeting was arranged.

He added: “Altogether there were around 20 people. It kicked off in the middle of the street. I just saw someone get stabbed in the back.”

He said fights are common and take place up to three times a month with 15 or more youths meeting for arranged violence with weapons.

“It’s not very nice and it’s sad for the residents. It gives the area a bad reputation,” he added  

Former Conservative councillor Keith Sedgwick said Gospel Oak was a magnet for gang fights because it was geographically a “no-man’s land” between other better served areas. 

He also blamed three “dispersal zones” recently introduced in neighbouring wards for pushing violence into the area, but said ultimately gangs fought over a “lucrative” strip of Queen’s Crescent associated locally with drug dealing.

“Gospel Oak has always been the place where gangs meet to fight – its like no-man’s land where people come into deal drugs,” he said.

Terence Wiggett of the Denton estate in Malden Road said many people were frightened to leave their homes at night.

“Without a doubt there are active gangs roaming around in large groups so arguably they’re not just there to socialise,” he said.

He called for a greater police presence in the area. 

DI Marriott said at this stage police were considering a variety of motives – including whether the victims were simply in the “wrong place at the wrong time” or if it was a case of mistaken identity.

“We’ve got two people with stab wounds. It’s a very serious incident,” he said. 

Anyone with information can contact Camden police on 0300 123 1212 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.