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The Second Greatest Risk after Terrorism

London Haunted by Relentless Spate of Stabbings

By Stefan Marx in London

Shaquille was 14 when he bled to death beside a park bench. Ben died at age 16, Robert was 18. A total of 27 youths have been stabbed to death in London this year. Police and politicians seem powerless to stop the violence, which stems in part from a growing gap between the haves and have-nots.

London in autumn is no place for people of a nervous disposition. Fireworks are set off on street corners ahead of Bonfire Night on Nov. 5, and in the southern borough of Southwark, figures with white-painted faces lurk in the shadows trying to lure tourists into the "London Dungeon," a chamber of horrors.

But young people in Southwark and elsewhere in the British capital are in very real fear for their lives. This year alone, 27 teenagers have been murdered in London, more than in the whole of 2007. Most of the murders have been caused by stabbing. Scotland Yard says knife murders among youths are the second biggest security risk in London after possible terrorist attacks.

Figures from the London police show that Londoners aged 17 to 20 are at an above-average risk of being attacked with a knife. More and more teenagers are carrying knives, usually because they're afraid of being attacked themselves. London police have confiscated 2,600 knives from youths searched in the street this year alone.

According to a report in Britain's Independent newspaper, the number of stabbings is far higher than police statistics suggest. In 2007, the newspaper reported, 14,000 people were taken to hospital with stabbing and cutting wounds, an increase of 19 percent from the previous year.

Scotland Yard has set up a task force of 75 officers to tackle the problem but its increased activity has failed to prevent killings such as the murder of Oliver Kingonzila. The 19-year-old, a talented soccer player who was said to have a professional career ahead of him, was stabbed to death on a Friday night in September in a bar in the south London borough of Croydon.

Shortly after Kingonzila's death, the front of the pub was a haunting scene. His blood was spattered on the glass door and dozens of bunches of flowers and condolence cards had been laid among the cigarette butts. Many of the cards carried the simple question many in London are asking: "Why?"

Oliver had got into an altercation with some people in front of the pub. Suddenly one of them pulled a knife. Two 18-year-olds were arrested later. The pub has since shut down.

Knives Pulled at the Slightest Provocation

Many young people have been killed or hurt in fights outside pubs at night. But stabbings often occur in broad daylight as well. Sometimes they happen simply because someone took offence at being looked at. Or because the victim accidentally walked into a gang fight in a housing estate. All cases have one thing in common: the victims were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

For years, Londoners felt safe and dismissed stabbings as a problem affecting socially disadvantaged minorities. But the problem has spread to prosperous areas. In May, 18-year-old actor Robert Knox was stabbed to death in the upmarket borough of Islington, where Tony Blair lived before he became Prime Minister. Rob Knox played a pupil in the latest Harry Potter film.

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