Witnesses to the aftermath of the fatal stabbing of a young man have described the horrific moments after he was attacked.
The air ambulance and police officers rushed to the spot where the 24-year-old lay collapsed in Cassland Road, at the junction with Christie Road, South Hackney, yesterday at 4.45pm.
Medics fought to save his life, but he was pronounced dead at the scene half an hour later.
One man who arrived at the scene shortly after the attack told the Gazette he had been stabbed through the heart.
“It was horrific,” he said. “All the colour drained from his face.
“No one seemed to know who he was. People were saying it was a scuffle with a group of kids.
“That’s the fourth or fifth stabbing around here. Someone was stabbed on my doorstep in the summer.”
A woman who lives nearby described how she heard a lot of noise and looked out to see people running up and down.
“There was a guy lying on the floor in the corner,” she said.
“There were a good 10 or 15 people there all around. I think they were all passing by and stopped to help. There was a guy giving him CPR. There was another one trying to stop him from bleeding and there was another one on the phone talking to the ambulance.”
She added: “There was a lot of blood and he looked like he wasn’t going to survive. It’s terrible – no matter what anyone does, you don’t imagine that anyone will come and stab them.”
Ashwin Patel from the convenience store nearby said the first he knew of the attack was when a young lad aged about 18 ran into his shop asking for a bottle of water because someone had been stabbed.
“I looked outside and there were a lot of people and a lot of hoo-ha going on. A kid and a bus driver started diverting the traffic and then the police came.
“There were about 10, 15, 20 people out there gathering on top of him to try and get him back to life. It was all panicky. It’s sad because he’s probably one of the kids from the community.”
Det Ch Insp Jamie Piscopo from the Met’s murder squad appealed for witnesses to come forward.
A post-mortem was due to be carried out at Poplar Mortuary this afternoon.
The man’s next of kin have been informed, but he has yet to be formally identified.
Anyone with information is asked to call 020 8345 3715 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
If you know the man and would like to pay tribute to him, please call the news desk on 020 3620 0178.
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