The four people stabbed on Camberwell’s Elmington Estate in broad daylight yesterday evening were all teenagers aged sixteen and under, police have confirmed.
Officers were called at 5.24pm last night to reports of a stabbing outside Landor House, where four teenage boys were found with stab wounds.
Police say they arrested six males, aged between fifteen and sixteen, on suspicion of violent disorder and grievous bodily harm, and all remain in custody.
In the aftermath of the attack a Section 60 was put in place across parts of Camberwell and Walworth, and remained in force until 9.30am today.
Last night, Southwark police’s Superintendent Annmarie Cowley made the following statement: “This incident is in its very early stages and at present we cannot speculate on what the nature of it may be.
“What we can say for certain is if there needed to be an example of the utter senselessness of knife crime, then this is it; four males are in hospital, and at this stage we cannot say how serious their injuries are.
“It is beyond comprehension.
“I would like to offer my reassurance to the community that officers are responding robustly; we remain at the scene and have also requested additional resources from the territorial support group and violent crime taskforce to patrol the area.
“Additionally, a Section 60 has been authorised from 18.30 to 09.30 on Friday, August 17, providing officers with powers to deter any further potential trouble.
“I would urge anyone who witnessed this incident to call police and tell us what you saw; if you are concerned or worried about speaking to police, I can assure you your information would be treated in the strictest of confidence.
“If you are not a person who would speak to police but you know something, I would ask you to think of the families of those involved who tonight have a loved one in hospital.
“Please do the right thing and speak to us.
“Those responsible for this should not go unpunished.”
All the victims were taken to hospitals in south London where one is in a critical condition, another is ‘serious but stable’ and the two others did not suffer serious injuries.
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called at 5.24pm on August 16, to reports of a stabbing on Elmington Estate, Camberwell.
“We sent a number of resources to the scene including ambulance crews, a single responder in a car and an incident response officer.
“We treated four people at the scene and took them to hospital.”
Police are appealing for witnesses, and have asked anyone with information to call Southwark CID by dialling 101 and quoting reference CAD 5391/16 AUG.
Alternatively, Tweet @MetCC or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.