Stabbing of student, 17, outside KFC pushes London murder rate higher than last year
The stabbing of a teenage boy outside a KFC has pushed the London murder rate higher than last year.
CCTV footage showed the moment Youssef Karim Hasan Al-Bayjani, 17, was attacked by a gang of youths at the fast-food restaurant in Edgware Road on Tuesday.
He was filmed arguing with the group at the entrance of the KFC before he was shoved to the ground and then repeatedly knifed in front of shocked diners.
The youths ran away from the scene.
Youssef died in hospital last night from his injuries sustained following the "awful" attack just before 2pm.
He was the seventh person to be murdered in London in just nine days, and the seventh teenager to be killed in the capital in just 30 days.
Youssef was the 104th murder this year, which is one higher than on September 11, 2018, according to analysis from the Times.
A friend who left flowers at the scene said the City of Westminster College student had been protecting her from a group of boys just half an hour before he was knifed.
READ MORE YAHOO NEWS HERE
Baby boy dies after being pulled from river in Greater Manchester
Man charged with murder of mother and son who disappeared 40 years ago
The girl, who did not want to be named, said: "He had a really good heart.
"On the day some boys were trying to mess with me, he stopped them and that was just about half an hour before it happened.
"We're just praying that this has to stop.
"No-one can really grieve because you just have to pretend it hasn't happened."
A relative, who also asked not to be named, said: "He was studying business and wanted to go to uni.
"He's an angel and he's in heaven now, a better place than here."
A police cordon is still in place outside a row of shops where the attack took place.
Mourners, some weeping at the edge of the police cordon, left flowers.
DCI Andy Partridge, from the Met's Specialist Crime Command, said: “This awful attack took place in broad daylight in a busy part of central London.
"A teenager with his whole life ahead of him has been taken away from his family who have been left heartbroken.
“We know that lots of people were in the area at the time and may well have seen what unfolded.
"We need them to do the right thing and get in touch right away with what they saw along with any images or moving footage captured before, during or after the attack."
