Police confirm additional stabbings and arrests at Notting Hill Carnival

August 27, 2024 TruthUSA

Three men, who were arrested after a 32-year-old woman was stabbed at Notting Hill Carnival, are still in police custody.

Five people were stabbed on the closing day of the Notting Hill Carnival, and the police have confirmed that three individuals are in critical condition.

On Monday, the Metropolitan Police reported on social media platform X about five stabbings and an incident involving a corrosive substance.

The latest update from the police indicates that two people stabbed on Monday and a 32-year-old woman stabbed on Sunday are in life-threatening conditions.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan stated, “This was supposed to be ‘family day’—a celebration suitable for all ages. One of those in the hospital, a 32-year-old woman whose condition remains critical, was at Carnival with her young child. We are tired of saying the same words every year. We are tired of telling families that their loved ones are seriously injured, or worse. We are tired of seeing crime scenes at Carnival.”

Detektives investigating the stabbing of the 32-year-old victim arrested three men on Tuesday morning.

Three men in their early 20s were arrested at separate addresses in Hammersmith and Fulham on suspicion of attempted murder and violent disorder. They remain in police custody.

Commander Charmain Brenyah, the Met’s spokesperson for Notting Hill Carnival, described the arrests as a “significant step in the investigation.”

“They are the result of a determined effort by detectives who have worked around the clock to identify, locate and arrest these suspects. We should not underestimate how much more difficult those vital early stages of an investigation are when they take place in the context of a busy, crowded event like Carnival,” said Brenyah.

Initial inquiries suggest that the 32-year-old woman was caught up in an altercation between two groups of men. The Metropolitan Police noted that it is not yet clear if they were known to her.

Investigations regarding other incidents at the carnival are ongoing.

‘An Annual Event’

The carnival, held in the streets of west London, is an annual celebration of Caribbean heritage, arts, and culture, running for over 50 years.

Authorities have reported 230 arrests at this year’s event, including 49 for possession of offensive weapons and 40 for class B drugs.

Among other offenses leading to arrests were sexual offenses, assault on an emergency worker, and violence with injury.

“It is the responsibility of all who value this event, who want to see it as the celebration it should be, to speak out and speak up about the violence that continues to overshadow it,” Adelekan said.

In 2023, there were 10 reported stabbings at the carnival, none of which were fatal. Officers made a total of 308 arrests, including 57 for assault on police. This year, the Metropolitan Police Federation (MetFed) reported that 15 officers were assaulted on the second day of the carnival.

“Punched, headbutted, spat at. Sadly predictable,” the association stated in a post on X.

The MetFed called the attacks on police officers during the carnival “an annual event.”

“More than 100 of our Metropolitan Police colleagues were assaulted at the Carnival last year … 70 the year before. Sexual assaults, physical assaults as well as being urinated on and spat on. We are tired of saying the same words every year,” it said on Tuesday.

Calls to change the location of the carnival surfaced last year amid concerns that the narrow streets of west London make it more dangerous. The policing minister at the time, Chris Philp, said he would look into moving the event from west London if the police advise it.

Before this year’s event, the newly-elected Labour government described the Notting Hill Carnival as “a vibrant celebration of Caribbean culture and Black history through music, art and dance.”

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