Three young men have been murdered in little over 12 hours in London, as the death toll for this year nears the decade high seen in 2018.

With three weeks left until the end of 2019, 134 people have so far been killed including the victims of the London Bridge terror attack.

Last year, police recorded 141 homicides in the capital – the highest since 2008.

The last spate of bloodshed started at 2pm on Thursday, when 22-year-old Exauce Ngimbi was stabbed to death in Lower Clapton.

Scotland Yard has arrested four people, including a 14-year-old boy, over the murder.

The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Show all 21 1 /21 The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Oluwadamilolda Odeyingbo Oluwadamilolda Odeyingbo, 18, was killed in a fight in Chislehurst on 10 January 2018 Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Hasan Ozcan Hasan Ozcan, 19, was stabbed to death on the Gascoigne Estate in Barking on 3 February 2018 Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Sabri Chibani Sabri Chibani, 19, was stabbed fatally in the chest in Streatham on 11 February 2018 Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Promise Nkenda Lord Promise Nkenda, 17, was stabbed to death in Canning Town on 14 February 2018 Facebook The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Lewis Blackman Lewis Blackman, a 19-year-old rapper from Kentish Town, was stabbed to death in Kensington on 18 February 2018 Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Abdikarim Hassan Abdikarim Hassan, 17, was stabbed to death near his home in Camden's Peckwater estate on 20 March - less tahan two hours before another man was stabbed to death nearby Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Kelvin Odunuyi Kelvin Odunuyi, a 19-year-old rapper known as DipDat and Lampz, was shot dead in Wood Green on 8 March Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Lyndon Davis Lyndon Davis, 18, was chased down and stabbed to death in Chadwell Heath on 14 March Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Tanesha Melbourne-Blake Tanesha Melbourne, 17, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Tottenham on 2 April PA The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Amaan Shakoor Amaan Shakoor, 16, was shot dead in Walthamstow on 2 April Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Israel Ogunsola Israel Ogunsola, 18, was stabbed to death in Hackney on 4 April Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Rhyhiem Ainsworth Barton Rhyhiem Ainsworth Barton, a 17-year-old rapper and aspiring architect, was shot dead in a Kennington Street on 5 May Handout The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Jordan Douherty Aspiring rapper Jordan Douherty died of his injuries outside a birthday party in Romford on 23 June Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Katrina Makunova Katrina Makunova, 17, was stabbed to death in Camberwell on 12 July 2018 Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Latwaan Griffiths 18-year-old Latwaan Griffiths was fatally stabbed on 25 July and died in hospital after being thrown off the back of a moped in Camberwell Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Guled Farah Guled Farah, 19, was shot in Walthamstow on 22 September Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Ethan Nedd-Bruce Ethan Nedd-Bruce, 18, died after he was shot outside a party at a flat in Greenwich, south-east London, on 22 October. He had also been stabbed, but the gunshot wound was the cause of death. Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Jay Hughes Jay Hughes, 15, died was fatally stabbed outside a chicken shop in Bellingham, south-east London, on 1 November Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Malcolm Mide-Madariola Malcolm Mide-Madariola, 17, was found suffering from a stab wound outside Clapham South Tube station on 2 November Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 John Ogunjobi John Ogunjobi, 16, died in front of his parents after he was stabbed in Greenleaf Close, Tulse Hill, on 5 November Metropolitan Police The teenagers murdered in London in 2018 Aron Warren Aron Warren, 18, was found stabbed in a flat block in Greenwich on 8 December and died at the scene Metropolitan Police

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Considine said: “Exauce’s family are devastated but I want to assure them, and the wider public, that we will work tirelessly to ensure those responsible for this murder face justice.”

Shortly after midnight, police were called to a reported stabbing near the luxury Harrods department store in Knightsbridge.

The 26-year-old victim was pronounced dead at the scene, while a man who was with him was also stabbed during an apparent robbery attempt.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Partridge said the pair were on their way home from a restaurant when they were approached by two male suspects.

“We believe that the victims were approached in order to steal property from them and were attacked during that encounter,” he added.

Three hours later, police were called to reports of another stabbing in Deptford.

A 20-year-old man, named as drill rapper Crosslom Davis, was pronounced dead at the scene at 3.30am.

Mr Davis, known as “Bis”, was a member of the Kennington-based Harlem Spartans group.

In May this year, he appeared in court accused of involvement in a Brixton shooting, which was revenge for a previous gang-related killing.

England footballer Jadon Sancho, 19, led tributes online to the rapper amid an outpouring of messages from the drill music community.

The Borussia Dortmund winger tweeted the message “rest up bis“ with a picture of the victim.

The Metropolitan Police said the three murders were not linked.

Commander Jane Connors said: “Each one of these attacks is a tragedy, not just for the victims and their families and friends, but for our wider communities who are left reeling by this senseless violence.

“And the common factor in each one is that someone was willing to carry a knife on the streets of our capital.

“Our highly-experienced teams of detectives and investigators are working relentlessly to determine exactly what happened and bring those responsible to justice.”

Ms Connors said patrols were being increased in areas where the murders took place, and other parts of the capital, including armed officers and the Violent Crime Task Force.

“We can only tackle violence together and need the help of the public to identify those willing to carry knives or involved in these violent acts,” she added.

“We are grateful for those who already have had the courage to speak to us about those they know pose a danger to others.”

The spate of killings came days after Scotland Yard announced the creation of a new unit aiming to predict outbreaks of violence using social media.

Drill music videos are among the sources of intelligence used, as well as posts and coded “chatter” across Snapchat and Instagram.