Truemors
It is suspected today that the 24th victim of knife and gun crime, "CJ" Hendricks, 18, found in a pool of blood in Waltham on Saturday, may have been a victim of turf wars. Police say they are keeping an open mind over the motive until the post mortem has established exact cause of death. Two men aged 19 and 17 have been arrested in connection with the incident.
The youth's tragic death has sparked off a race row, with some community leaders accusing the police of "letting black boys die", a claim angrily denied by the police. Not all of the teenage victims have been black, some have been Asian, some working-class, some middle-class.
Yesterday, his friends said CJ, as he was known, was not a gang member but the victim of rivalry between two groups.One woman, visiting the spot where he was killed, said: "It's called gang war. He wasn't in a gang himself, but he got caught up in something that was going on, he was in between something."
Another friend, Tiffeny Alexander, 20, an admin worker, said: "He never started any trouble. He wasn't a follower, he was a leader, and he always tried to tell everyone the right things to do. He had just passed his college exams. Out of everyone I know he was doing well with his life.
"What has happened was completely unpredictable, because he doesn't cause trouble and obviously the trouble has come to him. He had loads of friends and he was really popular."
Police arrested two youths aged 17 and 19 in connection with the attack, but the latter was yesterday released on bail.
The Metropolitan police said detectives were waiting for the results of a postmortem examination and were keeping an open mind about why Hendricks was killed
The wave of youth knife crime continues in England with an 18 year-old youth stabbed to death in Walthamstow, East London in the early hours of today. Officials have cancelled Olympic handover ceremonies in Waltham Town Square.
Waltham Forest is one of the planned venues of the London 2012 Games.
Two men aged 20 and 17 have been arrested in connection with the crime.
UPDATE: The youth has been named:
Charles Junior Hendricks, known to his friends as CJ, was found by police on a routine patrol near a bus garage in Walthamstow.
Officers had noticed two or three men running away from a street at around 1.40am and found the teenager lying on the pavement suffering from a single stab wound.
It is understood the victim knew his attackers and the stabbing may have happened following a "petty dispute".
Charles became the 24th teenager to be murdered in London this year, 18 of whom have been fatally stabbed. A total of 26 teenagers were killed in London last year. [/q]
An 18-year-old man has been stabbed to death near a bus garage in Walthamstow, east London.A routine police patrol found the teenager lying wounded near Selborne Road at 0140 BST. He was pronounced dead in hospital.
A man in his 20s and a 17-year-old youth have been arrested in connection with the incident and are in custody.
The council leader is now calling for a meeting with other local authority chiefs to tackle knife crime.
The 18-year-old victim is the 24th teenager to be killed in a stabbing or a shooting in London this year.
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (4)
at 13:57 on August 26th, 2008
CJ was a lovely boy and did not deserve this at all and he had done so well for himself, he will be sadly missed and I hope that his family will stay strong and I hope that his killer will be found. All our Love Chenice, Cheryl and Shannon xxx
at 16:47 on August 27th, 2008
C-j was a lovely boy from a loving background, to have him taken away from us was unfair he will never be forgotten and he will be missed by alot, alot of people i still can't believe this day. He had a lot going for him i am going to try stay strong for you even though this makes me ill , i want to see justice served and i won't rest till i see justice served. Much love from your bis sister.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
at 05:35 on September 1st, 2008
cj was a lovely boy, from all them times that i have known him i have known a kind an humble person.He was a very special one never in this fighting buisness.he was loved an will be loved by all. i find it hard to believe that he is gone never to be seen until God decides to take me away.I never imagined it to happern to him. its so unfair for me its hard to face the truth when you know that the truth is that he is gone forever.I hope his family stay strong althrough they lost a special pearle.
cj heaven must be proud they have found a missing angel who on earth put a smile on most of our faces we will always remember you as a heaven sent Gods angel.
i just hope hope they find that killer. i dont know what he wanted to gain out of killing cj
loads of love georginaxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
at 01:34 on March 5th, 2009
look, C.J was a kind boy, i think the kindest one i knew, he had sooo much going for him and i hate to look back and think '24.08.08' it hurts soo much to know that you arent here no more. looking up in the sky, i think 'another life taken for no reason' and to be honest, its true.
nd ive been around violence, ive seen someone get shot in the face and a guy running past me with blood gushing out his leg but to be honest, that didnt effect me, well obviously it did because of what i saw, but it didnt effect me on an emotional level like this did.
C.J your missed soo much, in everyones hearts,
FOREVER AND ALWAYS. XX