The weapons of choice in UK’s ‘crime pandemic’
- Young people are attacking others with guns and knives as incidents of violent crime increase
- UK facing extraordinary economic pressure as coronavirus pandemic upends normal life
The shooting of a 15-year-old boy by a classmate on his first day back at school in Kesgrave, a quiet town in Suffolk, England was a tragic new low in a nation becoming increasingly used to a shocking rate of random youth violence. Although gun crime is on the rise in the UK, the weapon of choice is usually a knife.
At least 13 people were stabbed in the 24-hour period between Friday and Saturday night in the London area. Five were teenagers, the youngest victim aged just 14, the oldest a 79-year old man. A 22-year-old man died after he was stabbed in Burnt Oak, a leafy suburb of northwest London.
As the UK opens up after months of lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, there has been an increase in violence. Much of it is gang-related, including drug and postcode turf wars. Some are personal grievances settled violently.
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson, a Labour political appointee, came under attack from local Conservative politicians on Sunday when he said he had been expecting an increase in violence because of economic hardship made worse by quarantine measures.