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CAPITAL CARNAGE
Clapham stabbing – Knife gang filmed ‘laughing after stabbing driver to death’ targeted him in armed execution outside Tube station, say cops
THIS is the shocking moment three laughing knife thugs sprint past terrified shoppers after stabbing a man to death in broad daylight.
The victim, a man in his 40s and named locally as dad-of-three Gavin Garraway, was knifed in Clapham, South London, yesterday afternoon in what police have described as a targeted attack.
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Exclusive footage obtained by The Sun Online shows the gang run past a row of shops just 30 yards from where the man was stabbed through his car window.
Stunned locals stop in the busy street as the young men flee the scene after launching the attack – the third violent death in the capital in just three days.
The gang are believed to have smashed through the victim's window after he crashed into a post while trying to get away outside a pub on Clapham High Street.
Eye-witnesses described how passersby pulled him out of the car covered in blood and battled to save him in the middle of the road.
LAUGHING GANG
His black VW Polo remained at the scene outside Clapham Common station last night as a murder investigation got underway.
Eyewitnesses described the moment that "men in their 20s" set upon the motorist - who died yards from his car.
A 52-year-old worker said: "We saw them run past the shop, one of them was laughing.
"They were young, with no facial hair, they didn't really look the type to be honest.
"Across the street I could hear the victim's foot was stuck on the accelerator.
STABBED THROUGH WINDOW
"The men passed by, you could see they were quite smartly dressed underneath the tops."
A food delivery driver was sat on his moped opposite the scene as the chaos unfolded.
The man, 23, from Clapham, said: "He was stabbed through the window of his car.
"I was there for his last moments, I could see his eyes rolling into the back of his head.
"They approached his car on foot, there were three of them, two wore black tracksuits and another wore a navy blue one.
"None of them tried to cover their face, but they wore hoods, they were black men, skinny and in their early 20s.
"Just one had the knife, it wasn't that long but it was really wide.
";Once they reach his car at the traffic lights he was trapped, so he drove into the post at the lights.
We saw them run past the shop, one of them was laughing. They were young, with no facial hair, they didn't really look the type to be honest
52-year-old eyewitness
"The men surrounded the car and tried to get inside, one of them picked up a pair of crutches and tried to break the window.
"There was a small gap in the window on the other side, where he was sitting, they managed to get the knife in there.
"After they came running across the road, and ran down Venn Street. They cut across all the traffic. They didn't give a toss.
"From the way they did it, it looks like they had done it before. They knew he would be there, somehow they knew."
The witness said that the victim was left in his car with his foot stuck on the accelerator.
He said: "The car was just sat there revving loudly. I began to walk over and I looked into the car.
GRIEVING RELATIVES
"The window had been cracked, there was a pool of blood on the passenger side.
"His eyes rolled into the back of his head, he was a big man and he had dreadlocks.
"The police dragged him out of the car and a blonde woman, about 40, performed CPR.”
Police could be seen holding sheets tied together to block the view of the body from passers-by.
Forensic officers could be seen gathered on the corner, while detectives entered the crime scene.
Mothers turned the heads of their children as police began to move the body.
Three female relatives held each other and wept on a road by the scene but were too upset to provide a tribute.
Seemingly overcome with grief, one man tried to run into the crime scene, before he was restrained by police.
32ND MURDER VICTIM IN 2019
Men with balaclavas could be seen on the other side of the crime scene, as a gang of men watched on.
A man who works in a nearby coffee shop said: "He was stuck in the car bleeding out, it wasn't good to see, it was chilling."
Gavin is the 32nd murder victim in capital so far this year, of which 21 stabbed.
Met Police today confirmed they were working to trace three men of slim build who were seen leaving the scene in what has been described as a ";targeted" attack.
DCI Paul Healy, who is leading the investigation, said: "This was a vicious and targeted attack on a man inside his car in a busy area.
"We understand the victim was driving a black VW Golf that was turning right from Clapham High Street onto Clapham Park Road when he was set upon by a group of males whilst sat inside his car. He received fatal injuries."
Police have today put in place a Section 60 Stop and Search order for areas around South East London.
Homicide detectives do believe this was a targeted attack
Chief Superintendent Simon Messinger
Chief Superintendent Simon Messinger, of the South Central Command Unit, said: "My officers remain at the scene today and around the area to provide reassurance to the local community and be on hand to help answer any concerns they may have.
"Homicide detectives do believe this was a targeted attack. That being said, I fully appreciate the alarm and concern this incident will raise particularly coming so soon after the fatal shooting of a young man in West Norwood. At this stage, there is nothing to suggest either incident is connected.
"There will be a visible police presence in the area with additional officers from the Violent Crime Taskforce drafted in to provide visibility and deter any further potential incidents.";
STABBINGS AT A 40 YEAR HIGH
KNIFE crime is at the “highest and most worrying” level in forty years, the Met Police chief says.
But Cressida Dick insisted figures are falling — with knife-related injuries down 15 per cent on last year.
She told MPs on the Commons Home Affairs Committee she is “cautiously optimistic” that serious knife crime is stabilising in London and other UK cities.
But the Commissioner said the past few years had been “deeply worrying” with more younger people involved and more knives on our streets.
She added: “The last couple of years undoubtedly have been the highest and most worrying levels in my service. If you look at stabbings of young people, I do think this is a new and tragic and worrying phenomenon. It is my number one priority.”
There were 44 violent deaths in London by March 26 in 2018 compared with 31 killings this year.
The stabbing came just hours after another man, aged in his 30s, was found with stab wounds at around 6.35am in Tottenham, North London.
He was rushed to hospital but his injuries are not believed to be life threatening, police said.
The bloodshed comes as knife crime rages on in Britain, with a 25-year-old shot dead in West Norwood on Wednesday and a man aged in his early 20s stabbed to death in Regent's Park on Thursday night.
Armed cops swooped on a mosque in Regent's Park after receiving reports the suspect ran inside after the horror unfolded about 6.15pm.
A string of attacks this week also saw six people - including four teens - stabbed on Tuesday alone.
There have been 22 fatal stabbings in London this year alone.
And there were 44 violent deaths in London by March 26 in 2018 compared with 29 killings this year.
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Commissioner Cressida Dick told the Commons Home Affairs Committee the past few years had been “deeply worrying” with more younger people involved and more knives on our streets.
She added: “The last couple of years undoubtedly have been the highest and most worrying levels in my service.
"If you look at stabbings of young people, I do think this is a new and tragic and worrying phenomenon. It is my number one priority.”
Any witnesses and those with information should call the Homicide and Major Crime Command Incident Room on 0208 358 0400, Tweet @MetCC or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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