Body of 17-year-old boy with stab wound pulled from west London canal

The teenager's death is being treated as a murder

A 17-year-old boy was pulled from a canal after he was found dead with a stab wound in west London.

The teenager was pulled from Grand Union Canal near the Wormwood Scrubs prison yesterday afternoon, after reports of a body in the water.

Paramedics were unable to save the teenager and he was pronounced dead at the scene at 6.10pm.

Scotland Yard confirmed his death is being treated as a murder but no arrests have yet taken place.

The Metropolitan Police said the boy’s next of kin have been informed and ‘enquiries into the circumstances continue’ while a ‘crime scene remains in place’.

This is one of two murder inquiries launched in the capital in less than 24 hours, after a man in his 20s was fatally stabbed in Nunhead Green, south London, last night.

He was rushed to hospital but he was declared dead at 9.30am this morning.

Detective chief inspector Laurence Smith said: ‘We are in the very early stages of this investigation and my team are working diligently to piece together the events that led to this man losing his life.

‘I would appeal to anyone who was in the area of Nunhead Green at around 9.20pm on Sunday night and who saw any of this incident to get in contact. You may have information that could prove vital to this investigation.’

Detective Chief Superintendent Seb Adjei-Addoh said: ‘I understand the concern that this incident will cause among the local community; another young man has lost his life to knife crime on our streets.

‘You will see an increased police presence in the Peckham area over the coming days.’

Last Monday, Khaled Saleh, 17, was stabbed to death as he walked past a church on Paddington Green in west London.

The keen boxer was found by bystanders who tried to help him but he was pronounced dead at 2.15pm.

Two other teenage boys, one aged 16, have since been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Sadly, seven teenagers have been murdered in the capital so far this year.

Tiffany Regis, 15, died in a fire at a block of flats in Beckton on April 6. A post-mortem gave the cause of death as smoke inhalation and police said the fire was being treated as arson. A 16-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder before being released on bail.

Chima Osuji, 17, was fatally stabbed in Chingford on April 10. A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder.

Tyler McDermott, 17, died in hospital on April 14, a day after being found with a shotgun wound in Tottenham. Two 19-year-olds – Tyrese Barnett, of no fixed address, and Leo Reid, of Tulse Hill, were charged with murder.

Renell Charles, 16, was stabbed outside Kelmscott School in Walthamstow where he was a pupil, on May 5. A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder.

Wazabakana Elenda Jordan Kukabu, 18, was stabbed in the chest during a fight between two groups armed with machetes near Dagenham Heathway tube station on May 5. A 15-year-old boy has been charged with murder.

After Khaled’s death on June 19, the boy pulled from the west London canal yesterday brings the heart-breaking toll up to seven.

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