Croydon stabbing: 60-year-old man knifed to death in London

Case sparks 148th murder investigation in London of 2019 - the deadliest year since 2008

A 60-year-old man has been stabbed to death in London after murders in the capital reached the highest level for 11 years.

The man died in a residential street in Croydon on Monday. The Metropolitan Police said officers were called to Woodcroft Road, Thornton Heath, at 9.30pm.

“A 60-year-old man was found outside a residential address suffering from stab wounds,” a spokesperson added. “The injured man was pronounced dead at the scene at 9.50pm.”

The man’s family have been informed but he has not yet been formally identified.

A 50-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder but police said he “became unwell” after being taken into custody.

The suspect was taken to hospital, where he remains in a stable condition. Enquiries into the circumstances of the stabbing continued.

Det Ch Insp Simon Harding said: “The victim was found injured in a residential street. While it is not a heavy footfall location, there may have been members of the public travelling through Woodcroft Road who saw something. I urge those people to come forward and speak to my officers without delay.

“No matter how insignificant you think it may be please do make the call. We are building the sequence of events leading up to and immediately following this attack which has led to a man’s death, your call could complete the picture.”

It was the 148th homicide investigation launched by the Metropolitan Police in 2019, making the year London’s bloodiest since 2008.

The Metropolitan Police is part of a London-wide Violence Reduction Unit, and has set up a squad attempting to use social media posts to predict outbreaks of violence and gang crime.

Earlier this year, commissioner Cressida Dick claimed violent crime was falling following an increase in the use of stop and search.

She previously said there was “some link” between the loss of more than 20,000 police officers since 2010 and rising violence.

As prime minister, Theresa May claimed there was “no direct correlation”, but Boris Johnson has vowed to recruit 20,000 new police officers in the next three years and increase stop and search powers further.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police via 101, direct to the incident room on 020 8721 4205 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.