Murder probe after stabbing in London park

A murder probe has been launched after a man was stabbed to death in an east London park.

Police were called to reports of a fight in Plashet Park, Newham, at 7.38pm on Saturday.

A man, understood to be 20, was found with stab injuries and he died at the scene despite officers administering first aid, the Metropolitan Police said.

Officers believe they know who the man is and inquiries are ongoing to identify him and inform his family.

A teenage male with stab injuries and another with head injuries were also found at the scene, the force said.

Both were taken to hospital and neither is in a life-threatening condition, it added.

No arrests have been made.

Superintendent Dion Brown, one of the senior officers responsible for policing Newham, said: “I know this tragic and violent loss of life will cause a good deal of upset among the local community.

“I share their sadness and their concern, and I send my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the young man who was killed.

“A murder investigation has been launched and continues at pace this morning, with skilled detectives supported by local officers and specialists from across the Met.

“This investigation will be exceptionally thorough and forensic in its nature.

“I urge any witnesses or anyone who has information to share what they know with police.

“We are determined to work with the local community to establish what happened and to bring to justice whoever was responsible for this senseless and brutal act of violence.

“Local people will see additional officers working in the area today and in the coming days. If you have any concerns, please do speak with them. They are there to support you and your community.”

A police tent has been erected beside a basketball court in Plashet Park, which a local resident said is regularly occupied with “hot-head boys” who get into loud arguments.

Mother-of-six Barbara Minley, 50, lives in a house overlooking the park and said she can no longer send two of her children, aged eight and 12, to play there because of the trouble.

Instead, they go to other parks “because of all these incidents”.

“I used to be able to send my kids to (Plashet Park) and look out the window and say ‘Oh, they’re fine, they’re there’,” the 50-year-old added.

She said the area has “changed a lot” in the more than 20 years she has lived there and that trouble escalated in the 2000s, which she put down to “turf – who is this one? Who is bigger than that one?”

She called for more community police officers and CCTV cameras, and told the PA news agency: “You have young kids and you’re scared to send your kid to the park. It’s too much, especially in the basketball bit – there is quite a lot of things that happen in this park.

“It’s stupid arguments and stuff like that. Another murder happened (nearby) two years ago, some stabbing.

“It’s too much hot-head boys – sometimes it’s a group of them, I don’t know what kind of thing it is, if it’s a gang thing.

“Loud arguments, shouting… sometimes I look out of my window like ‘What the hell is going on?’

“I’ve got two kids (living here); the other four are all grown-up and thank God they don’t live in this area – it’s just these two now that I’m worried about.

“It’s a beautiful park, but people just don’t want to give other people a chance to enjoy it.”

– Anyone with information or footage is asked to call 101 quoting reference 6541/27jul, or contact Crimestoppers to remain anonymous.