Crowd of teens and man ‘arrested with knife’ moments boy, 15, stabbed to death – My London

Islington residents have been left shocked after a 15-year-old boy was stabbed to death in Highbury Fields last night (August 4). Emergency services rushed to the scene at 9pm, next to Highbury Place, where they found the injured teenager. Despite the best efforts the London Ambulance Service, he was pronounced dead later in hospital.

Following this tragic incident, local residents have told MyLondon they saw a "large crowd of 40 teens" in the Highbury Fields park before the fatal stabbing took place. Local resident Ella Doyle told MyLondon: I was on Highbury Fields from about 6pm-8pm and it was pretty packed with people having picnics and stuff.

"And then, at about 7.30pm, a group of about 40 kids, probably around 14 or 15 [years old], all ran from one side of the park to the other. You could hear some of them say, Why are we running? It didnt look like anything sinister whatsoever. If that was linked, then thats awful. They were all so young."

READ MORE: Highbury Fields live: Updates after boy, 15, stabbed to death in North London park

One resident also claims she witnessed a young male being arrested. The anonymous resident told MyLondon reporter Seren Hughes: I saw a guy being arrested just in front of our gate. He had a huge knife - I saw the guy still there at around 8.40pm. I saw on the ground a zombie knife and somebody putting it in the bag. [The male being arrested] looked young."

The resident added: "I was surprised - I really had no idea what lead up to him being arrested. I could hear police radios. There were already two police men on motorbikes and a few on bikes.

I dont feel so safe now. I have seen a couple of guys being arrested before outside this building. Its a lovely park but clearly there is some crime going on. Seeing the knife made me scared knowing people are carrying that but it could happen anywhere in London.

The Metropolitan Police has yet to confirm if this arrest did indeed take place, or if it was in connected to the fatal stabbing which took place 20 minutes later. This is the case also with the large group of people on Highbury Fields earlier that evening - there is no evidence that this was at all connected to the stabbing at this stage.

Another local resident who lives next to Highbury Fields told MyLondon: "All I heard was shouting then screaming and I knew someone had been stabbed. I can hear Highbury Fields from where I live during the summer time."

There is currently a large cordon in place around the park, stretching around the bottom half of the park as well as Highbury Terrace, with a police presence guarding the scene. A police officer told a MyLondon reporter at the scene the park would be closed for "a few days".

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 or tweet @MetCC and quote CAD 7948/4Aug. Alternatively, you can speak to the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Follow our live blog for all the latest on this incident here.

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Crowd of teens and man 'arrested with knife' moments boy, 15, stabbed to death - My London