Six arrested after quadruple stabbing in south London

Attack is 'beyond comprehension', says borough police chief

Forensics officers inspect the area outside Landor House, Camberwell, London, after four people were taken to hospital with stab wounds (PA)

Six people have been arrested following a quadruple stabbing in south London.

The males – police did not give their ages – are in custody while the four victims, all thought to be teenagers, have been taken to hospital.

Police officers and paramedics were called to Landor House, Camberwell, shortly before 5.30pm on Thursday, where four males were found with stab wounds.

A cordon remains in place, the Metropolitan Police said.

Harriet Harman, MP for Camberwell and Peckham, said she was very concerned by the quadruple stabbing and was in contact with police and councillors.

Bloodied clothing and shoes littered the scene, as did surgical gloves and first aid bags behind the cordon at the low-rise housing estate.

Passer-by Chris Hardley reported seeing a “huge number” of police in the area, including armed officers.

The latest crime scene is just a short walk from Warham Street, where 23-year-old drill rapper Sidique Kamara, also known as Incognito, was stabbed to death on 1 August.

Superintendent Annmarie Cowley, of Southwark police, said: “This incident is in its very early stages and at present we cannot speculate on what the nature of it may be.

“What we can say for certain is if there needed to be an example of the utter senselessness of knife crime, then this is it - four males are in hospital, and at this stage we cannot say how serious their injuries are. It is beyond comprehension.

“I would like to offer my reassurance to the community that officers are responding robustly. We remain at the scene and have also requested additional resources from the territorial support group and violent crime taskforce to patrol the area.

“I would urge anyone who witnessed this incident to call police and tell us what you saw.

“If you are concerned or worried about speaking to police, I can assure you your information would be treated in the strictest of confidence.

“If you are not a person who would speak to police but you know something, I would ask you to think of the families of those involved who tonight have a loved one in hospital. Please do the right thing and speak to us. Those responsible for this should not go unpunished.”

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We sent a number of resources to the scene including ambulance crews, a single responder in a car and an incident response officer.

“We treated four people at the scene and took them to hospital.”

Anyone with information should call police on 101, citing reference number CAD 5391/16 Aug, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

The multiple stabbing comes just a day after a woman was murdered at her home in Battersea, south-west London. Desmond Sylva, 40, has now been charged over the death of 31-year-old Simonne Kerr, a nurse.

More than 50 people have been killed by stabbing in London this year.

In the year to March, knife crime offences rose by 16 per cent across England and Wales, and the total of more than 40,000 knife offences was the highest number since 2010-11.

Additional reporting by PA