Camden murders: Two young men stabbed to death in London

Police have launched murder investigations after two young men were stabbed to death within a mile of each other in a two-hour period.

The second victim is reportedly the third member of his family to die in a knife attack in five years.

Detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s Homicide and Major Crime Command have launched separate investigations, with the force saying “urgent enquiries are under way to establish the full circumstances and identify if there are any links between the two incidents”.

No arrests had been made on Wednesday morning.

The Metropolitan Police said the first victim, believed to be in his late teens, was found with stab wounds in Bartholomew Road, Camden, north-west London at about 8.30pm on Tuesday.

Paramedics fought to save his life, but he was pronounced dead at the scene around half an hour later.

Officers were then called to reports of a disturbance in Malden Road in Queen’s Crescent at about 10.15pm and found a man, believed to be about 20 years old, with serious stab wounds. He was also pronounced dead at the scene.

Police are awaiting formal identification of the first victim and said next of kin have been informed.

The second victim was named locally as Sadiq Aadam, whose brother Mohamed Aadam was murdered in the middle of the day in Camden Town in September, weeks before his 21^st birthday The Camden New Journal reported.

Friends of the 20-year-old, who was also known as “Moe” and “Mitch”, described him to the local paper as ”the most genuine kind hearted guy ever”.

Their cousin, Mohamed Abdullahi, also known as “Lefty”, was murdered in June 2013 aged 20.

Mr Abdullahi’s father and the Aadam brothers’ uncle, Aydarus Ahmed, has campaigned to end knife violence since his son’s death.

Mr Ahmed, who was born in Somalia and came to the UK in 1999, was presented with a “peace award” by the Somali Youth and Development Resource centre in 2014.

At the ceremony, local media reported him saying: “We need to educate our children to achieve better in the future and live in a safer environment with love ... If we come together and help them get through, they might have a better life.”

But London has seen large rises in knife crime since then. Recorded incidents rose by 23 per cent in the capital during the 12-month period to the end of September last year, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Post-mortem examinations of the victims killed on Tuesday night will be arranged in due course, the Met said.

Police said additional patrols will take place across Camden throughout the night, with the support of a specialist knife crime unit.

A section 60 order – which gives police the right to search people without the need for “reasonable grounds” of suspicion – was in force over Tuesday night until 7am on Wednesday.

Following the murders, Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said: “I have spoken all too often at the anger I feel at the senseless waste of life. Today, two more families are suffering a terrible loss and my thoughts are with them.

“The frequency with which some of our young people are prepared to take each other’s lives is shocking. For two young men to be murdered so close together – both in time and geography – makes this even harder to comprehend. Camden is a vibrant and diverse part of our city, the impact of these murders will be felt right throughout that community.

“My detectives are already investigating and I know that they will do all they can to catch those responsible. If you know something that may help then please let us know; if you would not normally speak to police then this is your chance to do the right thing.

She added: “London must come together to make it clear that this cannot continue. We will not police our way out of this problem. There is a role for all of us – London’s public, our partners and the police.”

“Today my officers will be making arrests related to knife crime, they will be using stop and search, they will be carrying out intelligence-led operations. My challenge to everyone in London is to ask each and every person to think about what you can do to help us tackle this blight on our city.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.