Scotland Yard is appealing for help with a murder investigation, after a teenaged boy was savagely stabbed to death in Southampton Way, Peckham.
Seventeen-year-old Abdirahman Mohamed, from Camberwell, was heard yelling for help after being stabbed in the chest on Friday, June 2.
Police and paramedics were called to the scene at 11.15pm, but he was pronounced dead within minutes.
One eyewitness, who worked at the Tesco supermarket metres from the crime scene, told the News: “I saw him shout ‘help me, help me’. Then he collapsed.
“Two people were with the young man – a white lady and a black boy. I thought they were joking around at first.
“Then I saw blood on the floor. And his friend was saying ‘talk to me, talk to me’.
“I saw people park their cars and a bus driver stopped to come and help. People tried to resuscitate him.”
The staff member said he did not catch sight of who had attacked the young man. He added that Mr Mohamed, who was born in Somalia, had been in the shop only four or five hours before, and would visit regularly.
The street remained cordoned off by police until the following day, with a blue tent was erected outside the Tesco.
Locals and friends of Mr Mohamed have created a shrine of flowers close to the scene, by the junction with Peckham Grove.
A post-mortem examination held at Greenwich Mortuary on June 3 gave the cause of death as a stab wound to the chest. Detective chief inspector Diane Tudway, who leads the Met’s Homicide and Major Crime Command, said the family were “utterly devastated”.
“[They] cannot understand why he has been taken from them in what is such a senseless act of violence. The motive at this time is unclear and we are retaining an open mind as to why Abdirahman was stabbed,” DCI Tudway said.
“We want to hear from anyone who saw the attack. If you were driving along Southampton Way, near the Tesco, do you have a vehicle that has a Dashcam? Images from Dashcams can be helpful in understanding what has happened and helpful in identifying people present in the locality.”
Anyone with information should contact the incident room on 020 8721 4005. You can also tweet information to @MetCC. To give information anonymously call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org. There have been no arrests.