A 17-year-old boy has been stabbed to death and another teenager is in hospital after a brawl in east London.
Police were called to Bow just after midnight on Sunday to reports of a disturbance involving about 100 people, some armed with machetes.
Officers along with paramedics from the London ambulance service and London’s air ambulance found two teenagers with stab wounds.
They were taken to hospital in east London, but the youngest – believed to be 17 – died afterwards. His next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers, according to Scotland Yard.
An 18-year-old remains in a critical condition in hospital.
Special stop-and-search powers were approved for six hours after the incident. Under a section 60 order officers can search anyone in a set area and time period without the usual “reasonable grounds”.
Detectives have opened an investigation, Operation Wildcast, but no arrests have been made and no weapons recovered.
DCI Mark Rogers of the Met’s specialist crime command said: “This is a highly worrying incident that has left one young man dead and another fighting for his life in hospital. My thoughts and prayers are with their families and friends at this difficult time.
“I also want to reassure them and the wider community that my team and I are working around the clock to establish exactly what has happened and who is responsible. I would ask anyone who witnessed this incident or may have information that could help our investigation to please get in touch with us and share what you know.
“I am aware of reports saying that about 100 people, armed with weapons, were involved. While I would stress that our investigation is in its very early stages, this information does not appear to be wholly accurate. We know a significant number of people were caught up in this incident but not necessarily directly involved or armed with weapons.”
