Evening Standard/London
A man died after being stabbed in broad daylight and staggering into a busy road where he collapsed in front of horrified onlookers.
Adrian Young was killed after he was attacked by a gang of men during a fight in Croydon, south London.
The 24-year-old was rushed to hospital but died two hours later from his injuries.
Detectives said they were keeping an “open mind” over the motive for the killing which followed reports of a brawl in the area through the afternoon.
John Harding, 22, whose home overlooks Cromwell Road where the victim was stabbed, said: “I heard a big commotion, people shouting in the street and thought it was just kids playing.
“But then I looked out of the window and saw lots of blood on this guy’s chest and arm and you could even see the gash wound in his chest. It looked pretty big. He wasn’t clutching it or anything, but looked tired and was kind of limping. He collapsed round the corner on the main road.
“It looked really bad but he just kept walking.
“I think a group of young people had been hanging around in the street earlier but I don’t know what happened, they must have fallen out over something.”
“He was walking in the direction you would have to go to get to the hospital (Croydon University Hospital) so I think he must have been trying to walk there.”
Young staggered onto Whitehorse Road where he collapsed.
Dean Coke, 38, who lives on the road, said: “There were two ambulances and lots of police and you could see them pumping his chest for about 30 minutes after turning him over.
“His body was just lying there on the floor on the pavement not moving.
“The road was all cordoned off and police were everywhere. It was a terrible scene, horrible for a man to die like that there.”
A worker at a dry cleaners opposite where he collapsed said: “Almost as soon as he collapsed police pulled up next to him. It looked like he was lying face down at first before they moved him.
“They were there for a long time, about 30 minutes, with ambulances trying to revive him but he didn’t move. They were pumping his chest and maybe doing some kind of surgery.”
Scotland Yard’s Homicide and Major Crime Command are now leading the investigation into the killing and appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
Detective inspector John McQuade said: “We believe that the stabbing took place following an altercation that had been going on in the area since earlier in the afternoon, although we retain an open mind regarding the cause of this dispute.
“I would urge anyone who can help us to piece together events to come forward and contact police as soon as possible.”
Thieves armed with sledgehammers and an axe stole Rolex watches from a Knightsbridge store in a smash and grab raid this morning.
The gang of seven men, who were riding three mopeds and a motorbike, used their weapons to smash their way into the shop shortly after 10.25am.
The group threw smoke grenades inside the store in an attempt to conceal themselves and stole about ten watches from the shop’s display cabinets, according to reports.
Witnesses posted their reactions to the dramatic robbery on social media.
Scott Kenworthy wrote: “Just watched 3 guys on mopeds rob a Rolex store in Knightsbridge using axes and throwing smoke grenades.”
Alice Stuart posted: “Someone broke into the Rolex store in Knightsbridge. So much glass”.
No arrests have been made and no injuries have been reported, Scotland Yard said.
Smash-and-grab gangs have struck hundreds of times at boutiques and jewellery stores from Knightsbridge to Kensington in recent years, stealing millions of pounds of goods.
A police tent at the scene of the investigation in Croydon.
