Fresh violence in London as police step up patrols after bank holiday shootings

Police have stepped up patrols in London after a bank holiday weekend of violence, as another shooting and more stabbings were reported in the capital.

A young man - thought to be in his late teens or early 20s - was rushed to hospital after being stabbed in Stratford, east London, on Monday afternoon.

And a 30-year-old man, believed to be a food delivery driver, was injured in a shooting in New Cross, southeast London, shortly before 5pm.

Police initially said the stabbed man was in a critical condition but it is now believed neither victim suffered life-threatening injuries.

A man was also treated for stab wounds in Chadwell Heath, east London, on Monday evening.

The latest violent incidents come after two boys, aged 15 and 13, were shot in the head in the city on Sunday.

The teenagers were hit by shotgun pellets in Harrow, northwest London, in what police called a "callous, reckless and brazen act".

The 15-year-old was taken to hospital, where he remains in a non life-threatening condition.

The 13-year-old, who was believed to have been an innocent bystander, has been discharged from hospital after treatment for non life-threatening injuries.

Police said there was also a possible third victim who may have been at the scene with the 15-year-old boy.

It is thought he sustained an arm injury and left prior to the arrival of emergency services.

A 39-year-old man arrested over the incident has been released under investigation.

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The teenagers were shot less than 24 hours after Rhyiem Barton, 17, was shot dead on Saturday in south London.

His mother Pretana Morgan paid tribute to him, saying: "I couldn't have asked for a better son.

"My son was a very handsome boy. He's got so much potential."

Scotland Yard said extra police officers, supported by armed units, were patrolling the streets in an effort to reduce crime following the spate of violent incidents.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he refused to accept that "nothing can be done to stem the appealing rise of violent crime", saying the force was "overstretched and under-resourced".

It follows a string of violent killings across the capital in 2018, with police investigating more than 60 alleged murders.

Official statistics released in April show the number of homicides in London has spiked by more than 44% in the last year.

In another incident during the bank holiday weekend, a 22-year-old man suffered gunshot wounds in Lewisham, southeast London.

And in Perivale, northwest London, a 43-year-old was stabbed after a dispute about driving.

Three men aged 22, 27 and 17 were also injured in a "noxious substance" assault following an altercation between two groups in Hackney, east London.

Elsewhere in the UK over the bank holiday weekend:

:: A teenager was seriously injured after being shot in the leg in Clayton, Manchester on Monday afternoon

:: Fatah Warsame, 20, was stabbed to death in Liverpool city centre in the early hours of Sunday

:: A 20-year-old man was stabbed to death near a supermarket in Luton on Sunday evening

:: Underworld enforcer John Kinsella, 53, was fatally shot near the M62 in Merseyside on Saturday morning