BLOOD ON THE STREETS
Young mum in ‘wrong place at wrong time’ one of three people killed in 12 hours of violence on London’s streets as two men also shot dead
A YOUNG mum in the "wrong place at the wrong time" was one of three people killed in just 12 hours in another night of bloodshed in London as two men were also shot dead.
The gruesome bloodbath started at 3.45pm yesterday when a man died after reportedly blasting himself with a shotgun in Sydenham, South London.
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Horrified bystanders watched on as the man, in his 20s, was surrounded by balaclava-clad men, saying: "He shot himself, he f****ing shot himself".
One said: "He came to shoot someone else, but he ended up shooting himself.
"The bullet bounced off a car window. You can see on the car window where the bullet bounced off it.
"After it happened, the boy he came to shoot stood there filming him."
Desperate paramedics fought to save him at the scene but he was pronounced dead five minutes later.
Hours later, a man and woman died within just minutes of each other in North London as the bloodshed raged on.
The woman, aged in her 20s and named locally as Shakira Mercedes, was found stabbed in Chalk Farm at 11.13pm and died shortly before midnight.
Terry Ellis, from the group Camden Against Violence, said the stabbing victim regularly attended their events.
He said: "She's a mother, she's got a six-year-old kid. As far as I know it was an argument she wasn't really involved in.
"She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It wasn't gang-related, it wasn't drug-related.
"She was a wonderful young lady, always happy. She's got a lovely son and was just a normal mother."
Police said two other women were also found with stab wounds but their condition is not believed to be life-threatening.
A 35-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder and is being quizzed by cops in custody.
Less than a mile away, a man was shot in Kentish Town and pronounced dead at 12.10am this morning - with police launching a murder probe.
His next of kin are yet to be informed and no arrests have been made.
Scotland Yard the two murders are not being linked. Anyone with information should call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last month he was determined to tackle rising levels of knife crime amid the impression of a growing "culture of insolence" among "thugs" who believed they could act with impunity.
Mr Johnson pledged to extend police stop and search powers and also said the government would be investing £2.5 billion in creating 10,000 new prison places.
Last year was London’s bloodiest in 10 years as the death toll reached 135, and if the current trend continues this year it could beat that harrowing number.
The knife crime epidemic has become so huge some schools will be forced to install knife arches, and teachers are constantly on the watch for dangerous blades.
Hospitals in the capital treat 21 people a day for knife wounds and other injuries from assault, official figures showed earlier this year.
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Last week, Sun Online revealed London's knife-crime epidemic was scaring off tourists.
Statistics from VisitBritain show the number of overseas travellers who came to London between January and March this year dropped by 5.3 per cent, compared to the number who arrived in 2017.
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Police are investigating witness reports that a man who died from gunshot wounds in southeast London had accidentally shot himself