UK police launch investigation after man stabbed to death at carnival

By Muhammad Mussa

LONDON, UK (AA) - The UK’s metropolitan police on Tuesday launched a murder investigation after a 21-year-old man was stabbed at the Notting Hill Carnival on Monday evening.

Police were alerted to a stabbing incident at Ladbroke Grove in west London. The man was provided emergency first aid by officers before being taken to a hospital in the vicinity where he was later pronounced dead.

“At around 8pm on Monday August 29 officers became aware of a stabbing in Ladbroke Grove, under the Westway flyover,” a statement from the police said.

“Officers provided emergency first aid to the victim – a 21-year-old man – until the arrival of London Ambulance service paramedics,” the statement added.

Several other incidences of stabbings and violence, including sexual and physical assault, had been reported throughout the duration of the carnival, which lasted from Aug. 27-29.

The killing of the 21-year-old man came on the last day of the event and on Tuesday morning the Met Police made up to 209 arrests.

The violence witnessed at the carnival prompted the police to enforce a Section 60 Order which gives them the power to stop and search people without a warrant.

The event took place on the August Bank Holiday in Notting Hill, west London, and celebrates mainly Caribbean culture and diversity with costumed parades, food stalls and music shows.

The carnival has been in existence for 55 years and is the world’s second-largest after the annual carnival held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

However, due to the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, the carnival had been shut down for two years. This year, up to a million people attended the event.