London Evening Standard/London
A man was knifed to death and a teenager stabbed after a mass brawl broke out on a London street in front of horrified shoppers.
The 22-year-old victim died of multiple stab wounds and an 18-year-old was treated in hospital following the suspected gang fight in Ealing.
One of the crowd of up to 17 youths raced into a Costcutter shop and stole a bottle before smashing it and using it as a weapon during the clash on Tuesday afternoon, eye-witnesses said.
Paramedics were later called to Gunnersbury Lane, a mile from the scene, where they tried desperately to resuscitate the stabbed man. Residents told how the ambulance crew had to hold back the second injured man who was running around “freaking out” while they attempted to revive his friend on the blood-soaked road.
They were both taken to hospital where the older man was pronounced dead.
The brawl is believed to have started in Northcote Avenue, before spilling out onto the busy high street, The Mall and then onto Hamilton Road, at around 3.15pm.
One drinker in the Sir Michael Bacon pub, next door to the Costcutter, said: “There was lots of shouting and then they were fighting on the bonnet of my car. I think there were about 17 of them and some were armed with bottles. I definitely saw one man whose clothing was covered in blood.”
An estate agent at the nearby Rolfe East office in The Mall said the group had a bottle of wine with them and were arguing. He added: “It was becoming rowdy and one of the guys took out a knife and stabbed another in the back. Then they all ran off.”
After the crowd dispersed, witnesses in Gunnersbury Lane told of the frantic scene as paramedics tried to save the man who later died.
Mother-of-two Gina Lall, 33, said: “I saw one guy lying in the street and his friend was freaking out. It looked like he had a hole in his back. I think he just wanted to help his friend, but he was being held back.”
A man in the nearby Red Lion and Pineapple pub, who did not wish to be named, said: “The guy on the floor’s feet were flapping around as the paramedics tried to resuscitate him, pumping his chest. The other one was running around with his shirt off.”
Another local said he cycled past youths having an argument about half an hour before the fight broke out and added: “They seemed to be neighbours or people living round this area.”
One of the victims’ cars, a blue Volkswagen, was taken away from The Mall by police.
Forensic officers were yesterday morning combing the streets and drains around the scene for a murder weapon. They were also examining a driving instructor’s car parked in nearby Hamilton Road.
One resident in his sixties who lives in Northcote Avenue said the street had been plagued with drug dealers for months and claimed: “People are always coming in expensive cars. Sometimes there are groups of 8-10 guys smoking drugs outside. They move up and down the street. We have complained to police many times.”
