This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A murder investigation has been launched after a man in his 20s was fatally stabbed in Shoreditch, east London.

The incident, which happened in the early hours on Saturday, is the latest in the wave of knife crime in the city. London is on course for the highest number of homicides in a decade after the total this year exceeded the figure for the whole of 2017.

Police and paramedics attended the scene just before 6.30am after receiving reports of an injured man.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan police said: “Officers, London air ambulance and London ambulance service attended and found a man in his 20s suffering from stab injuries.

“He was taken to a central London hospital in a critical condition. He died in hospital a few hours later. His next of kin have been informed.”

No one has been arrested and inquiries are continuing. A postmortem examination will be held in due course.

The killing comes after a police officer was stabbed outside a train station in Ilford, east London.

Since 1 January, there have been more than 123 homicides in London. The figure – which includes cases of murder and manslaughter – includes 70 fatal stabbings and 14 shootings. The total in 2017 was 116, excluding the deaths in the Westminster, London Bridge and Finsbury Park terrorist attacks.

A crime scene remains in place and a number of roads are still temporarily closed. Some bus routes have been diverted and officers have advised motorists to avoid the area.