'Season of the Knife': Two more young men stabbed to death in London

Two young men were stabbed to death last night just a few miles apart and within just a few hours.

The first attack was in Leyton, east London, at about 5.30pm. Police were later called to Walthamstow, where a man was found with a fatal stab wound.

Police say they are not linking the deaths at this stage.

Four people were arrested after the first stabbing, in Downsell Road. No-one has been arrested after the St David's Court stabbing in Walthamstow.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said of the first stabbing: "We were called by the London Ambulance Service at 5.25pm to Downsell Road E15 following reports of a man suffering a stab wound.

"The 20-year-old man was treated by paramedics, however, he was later pronounced dead at the scene.

"Four people have been arrested and taken to east London police stations.

London bleeds for victims in season of the knife
Stabbing epidemic, which has claimed 19 lives so far this year, has replaced Islamic terrorism as the No. 1 priority for the police
In London, this has become the season of the knife, and the stories of Laurent, Gabriel, Shakilus and at least 16 more victims have blotted out all other topics, leaving the city bewildered by weekly reports of stabbings, each more horrific than the last. Street corners across London are garlanded with memorials to the victims.

Yesterday saw a burned man turn himself in to the police in an apparent confession to the murder of the French students. A badly bleeding man was found dying of stab wounds on a south London street. And David Idowu, a 14-year-old schoolboy who was stabbed in the stomach and chest after being chased across a soccer field three weeks ago, died in hospital, making him the 19th knife victim in the city this year.

So serious is the epidemic that the Metropolitan Police, Britain's major police force, told officers this week that their top priority had shifted from Islamic terrorism to knife crimes.

The spate of stabbings exploded into the centre of politics yesterday as the leaders of Britain's three major parties leaped to demand solutions: longer sentences, larger police forces, a push for more active parenting.

Hooded men with knives have been part of London's street culture for centuries, but rarely in recent history have the victims been so young, the motives so pointless or the killings seemingly so frequent.