Victoria station stabbing: Schoolboys, 15, stabbed in 'brawl involving up to 10 youths'

Hatty Collier, Barney Davis
Updated

Two schoolboys were stabbed after up to 10 youths became embroiled in a fight outside Victoria station, police said.

Scotland Yard has issued a fresh appeal for witnesses to the brawl which left two 15-year-old boys in hospital with stab wounds.

Officers said they would be returning to the scene on Wednesday afternoon to reassure commuters and speak with potential witnesses.

Dozens of police, including firearms officers, swarmed Wilton Road, sealing off the street for five hours as an investigation was launched.

Emergency services outside Victoria Station in central London, where two youths were stabbed and taken to hospital (PA)
Emergency services outside Victoria Station in central London, where two youths were stabbed and taken to hospital (PA)

Witnesses told the Standard they saw about a dozen youths, some in school uniform, involved in a chase outside the station before hearing the screams of a wounded victim from an alleyway between shops.

One of the teenagers was stabbed repeatedly in the leg and remained in hospital on Wednesday afternoon in a stable condition.

The second victim was stabbed in the arm and has been discharged from hospital.

There were reports that one of the children was attacked by a group of youths while his friend was injured when he came to his aid.

Bloody clothing at the scene outside Victoria Station in central London (PA)
Bloody clothing at the scene outside Victoria Station in central London (PA)

A Met Police spokesman said: “At this early stage, it appears that there was an altercation involving around seven to ten young people in the area of Wilton Road.”

The spokesman added: “Additional officers will be in the Victoria area this afternoon, March 8, to provide reassurance and to speak with any members of the public who may wish to provide information.”

Cleaners from the station are said to have stepped in to break up the fracas at 4.20pm on Tuesday.

Pictures showed a white shirt and school tie covered in blood strewn across the pavement near to the scene.

A City worker said: “I saw the kid with the police. He was covered in blood and had a bandage on his arm and the police were holding it up to try to stop the bleeding.

“One lady was telling us he’d been stabbed after being chased off a bus.

Newspaper vendor Abdul Aziz, 22, saw passers-by run for cover inside the Apollo Theatre. He said: “There were loads of schoolkids around shouting for help. There was a curtain up and blood everywhere on the floor. There was a massive rush to get into the station and it was absolute chaos by the Wicked theatre entrance.”

Commuter Rebecca Gibbons said: “They’d put a screen up but you could see the bloodied clothes on the floor. There were lots of people milling around giving officers statements and there were bloodied clothes of a school uniform left there with a tie.”

Detectives from Westminster CID are investigating.

Police are appealing for any witnesses, or anyone with information that may assist the investigation, to contact Westminster CID via 101 or @MetCC.or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via the www.crimestoppers-uk.org website.