Russell Jones, 23, became the eighth person in a week to be killed in London when he was ambushed outside shops near Ponders End station, Enfield on Saturday

Tributes have poured in for the university student who was shot and stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack outside a train station in north London.

Russell Jones, 23, became the eighth person in a week to be killed in London when he was ambushed outside shops near Ponders End station, in Enfield on Saturday.

A friend described how Mr Jones was in 'the wrong place and the wrong time' when the unidentified attackers inflicted fatal knife injuries and a suspected gunshot wound.

'Russell was a kind, loving guy and very humble in school,' said Jordon Welsh, who attended Lea Valley High School along with Mr Jones he added.

'He was in the wrong place at the wrong time,' he told the Evening Standard.

Mr Jones, who is understood to have been in the last two weeks at the University of Hertfordshire was with a friend, also 23, when four hooded men launched a brutal attack.

His friend was also stabbed and taken to hospital but is not in a serious condition.

Detectives from the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command are investigating.

Police have yet to make any arrests.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Partridge, who is leading the investigation, said: 'This was a totally unprovoked attack on the victims and their group, with the level of violence used being utterly deplorable.

A friend described how Mr Jones was in 'the wrong place and the wrong time' when the unidentified attack inflicted fatal knife injuries and a suspected gunshot wound

'The suspects arrived together coming from the direction of Curlew House. They fled together along an alleyway to the side of the Oasis Academy, heading towards Sandhurst Road, passing the allotments and industrial estate.

'Whilst the attack itself only took minutes to carry out, I want to hear from members of the public who may have seen them in the area before the attack or afterwards when they fled towards Sandhurst Road.

'Any fragment of information could assist the investigation. Please do not assume that we already have your information.'

Mr Jones, who is understood to have been in the last two weeks at the University of Hertfordshire was with a friend, also 23, when four hooded men launched a brutal attack

The attack comes amid a murder epidemic sweeping the capital that claimed eight lives in a week from last Wednesday.

Lyndon Davis, 18, the youngest to have been named, was found suffering from a single stab wound in Chadwell Heath, east London on March 14.

Joseph Williams-Torres, 20, was killed the same evening as he sat in a stationary car in Essex Close, Walthamstow.

Father-of-two Tyrone Silcott, 42, died from knife wounds on Sunday morning after a St Patrick’s Day party.

Detectives from the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command are investigating. Police have yet to make any arrests (pictured with a friend)

It is alleged the car mechanic got into a row over two girls at a party in Homerton and was attacked.

Hersi Hersi, who lived as a trans woman called Naomi, was pronounced dead at the scene after being found with knife injuries at Heathrow Palace in Haslemere Avenue, Hounslow, at 10.50am on Sunday.

Romanian Beniamin Pieknyi, 20, is believed to have jumped in to the fight in a bid to save his friend during the altercation at the Stratford Centre in east London.

The 20-year-old, who only arrived in Britain two months ago, died in his best friend's arms after being chased and stabbed by a gang in the busy shopping centre.