Yahoo News Three killed in less than 12 hours in weekend of bloody violence in London
A young mother of a six-year-old boy was one of three victims killed in separate attacks in less than twelve hours in London.
The woman was fatally stabbed in an argument at around 11.15pm on Sunday in Belmont Street, Camden. Two other women also suffered severe knife wounds.
In a second incident less than a mile away, a man was gunned down in Kentish Town shortly after midnight and pronounced dead at the scene.
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A third man died after reportedly blasting himself with a shotgun in Sydenham, south-east London.
Witnesses said that the man had come to shoot someone else but the bullet ricocheted off a car window, hitting him instead.
Detectives from the Metropolitan Police murder squad are investigating all three deaths.
The mother, in her early 20s, named locally as Shakira, was also pronounced dead at the scene despite treatment from paramedics.
A trail of blood could be seen on the ground near the scene of her death on Monday.
Terry Ellis, from Camden Against Violence, said the stabbing victim regularly attended the group’s events.
“She’s a mother, she’s got a six-year-old kid,” he said. “As far as I know it was an argument she wasn’t really involved in.
“She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It wasn’t gang-related, it wasn’t drug-related.
“She was a wonderful young lady, always happy. She’s got a lovely son and was just a normal mother.”
Mr Ellis said the family of the young mother have been left “devastated” by the killing.
“She’s just a normal mum,” he added.
Two other women suffered slash wounds. Scotland Yard said a 35-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
Friends of the victim left floral tributes at the scene on Monday.
One, who gave her name as Ronney, 21, described the dead woman as a “really, really good mum” who had “adored” her son.
“She was part of everyone’s life, she helped everyone,” she said. “She was part of my family. She was lovely.”
The woman, who said she used to live with the victim, said she was not involved in an argument that broke out, but was sticking up for someone else.
“I don’t know why people feel the need to carry knives. People just don’t think before they do things,” she added.
The second killing saw a man in his 20s shot dead around half a mile away in Malden Road, Kentish Town, just before midnight.
An air ambulance was sent to the scene but the victim was pronounced dead shortly after midnight.
There is no link between the deaths.
The violence came after Camden Against Violence ran a series of community events over the weekend.
“We woke up this morning and it’s been marred by two tragic deaths. Our hearts go out to the families. We are still in shock,” Mr Ellis said.
The man who died in Kentish Town was the second person to die of gunshot wounds in the capital in less than 12 hours.
At 3.45pm on Sunday, firearms officers were summoned after shots were heard in Sydenham Road, south-east London.
The victim, who was in his 20s, died at the scene at 3.50pm, police said.
Witnesses in the area said that they had heard reports the man had accidentally shot himself.
A 56-year-old woman living on Venner Road said: “He came to shoot someone else, but he ended up shooting himself.
“The bullet bounced off a car window. You can see on the car window where the bullet bounced off it.
“After it happened, the boy he came to shoot stood there filming him.”
She said she had been stuck inside the police cordon for three hours since the shooting.
“He’s been there for three hours covered by a sheet,” she said. “No mum, no dad. It’s really sad.”
