Fifth stabbing in four days in north London district amid UK knife crime surge

Detectives are investigating whether a stabbing in north London is linked to four others they suspect may have been carried out by a serial attacker, as the authorities try to get a grip on a surge in knife crime in Britain.

The latest incident happened soon after 5am on Tuesday in Enfield, close to where the first attack happened on Saturday.

Four people were attacked in the area between 7pm on Saturday and 9.45am on Sunday, leading to a large search and two arrests. After the latest attack, police are trying to establish whether the attacker involved in the first stabbings is still at large or if the latest one is unrelated.

The Metropolitan police said in the latest incident the male victim, who is in his 30s, had life-threatening injuries.

They said he was walking with a companion, who escaped unharmed, whereas in the previous attacks the victims were apparently targeted at random while walking on their own.

Officers were tracking down local security cameras and studying the footage to compare the suspect in the latest stabbing with the one in the first four attacks.

The description of Tuesday’s suspect broadly matches that of a person police want to find in connection with the other stabbings. The former is described as “a tall, skinny black man, wearing a hoody”, while the latter is “a black man, approximately six feet three inches tall, of skinny build and wearing dark clothing, possibly a hooded top”.

Police said the man was attacked in Fairfield Road and made his way to Aberdeen Road, where he was found by officers.

The first victim, a woman, 45, was stabbed in the back by a lone man on Aberdeen Road just after 7pm.

The two men arrested after the four earlier attacks were being held in custody on suspicion of grievous bodily harm.

Police previously said the four attacks over the weekend were linked and believed they were the work of a sole male suspect, who may have mental health problems.

“I am aware that events from the weekend have caused a huge amount of worry and concern among the community, and that this incident will cause further alarm,” said Detective Superintendent Luke Marks. “While at this stage the incident has not yet been formally linked, the location and manner of this attack will be of concern to the public.”

On Monday, Prime Minister Theresa May held a special meeting to discuss tackling Britain’s soaring knife crime.

There were 285 fatal stabbings in England and Wales in 2018, the highest level since records began more than 70 years ago, officials statistics showed last month.

Police say the surge in knife crime in a country where guns are hard to obtain has been driven by several factors, including rivalries between drug gangs, cuts to youth services and provocations on social media.

Additional reporting by Reuters