An 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and grievous bodily harm as police said two killings and an assault in north London were being treated as linked and provided more details of the incidents.

A man and a boy were stabbed to death within two hours of each other in Camden on Tuesday, shortly after another boy had been attacked with a knife.

Scotland Yard said based on the proximity in time and locations, the nature of the attacks and developing lines of inquiry, the murders in Bartholomew Road and Malden Road, along with the assault in Aldenham Street were being treated as linked.

An 18-year-old was arrested on Thursday in Camden on suspicion of two counts of murder and one count of grievous bodily harm. He is in custody at an east London police station.

Four men – aged 24, 23, 20 and 21 – were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of grievous bodily harm in connection with the attack in Aldenham Street. They were taken into custody at a central London police station and have been released under investigation.

DCI Nicholas Davies, in charge of policing in Camden, said a section 60 notice, which authorises stop and search without suspicion, was in place in the area where the attacks took place. There had been 35 searches leading to six arrests and the seizure of two knives and two baseball bats.

“The information has come from our sources but it’s come very much from the community that they are concerned that individuals are carrying knives and that we want to stop that,” Davies said. “We will continue this today, and we’ve currently got a section 60 that is authorised until 3.30am.”

Police are appealing for witnesses to the attacks, which took place in busy areas. Det Supt Stuart Ryan, of the Met’s homicide and major crime command, admitted that potential informants – who were likely to be local youngsters – might have concerns about approaching police. “Obviously any information that they are able to give us will be kept in the strictest confidence,” he said.

“We don’t know what the motive is behind this so we are not saying it is gangs or anything else because it is not as far as we are aware at the moment. But whether we like it or not these young people are difficult to get to.”

Abdikarim Hassan, 17, died after he was stabbed in Bartholomew Road. Photograph: Family Handout/PA





Police were investigating a blue van seen in the area of the two murders and appealed for information from anyone who saw the vehicle. The vehicle was later found, burned out, on Ingestre Road, close to Tufnell Park.



On Tuesday at about 8pm, officers in Eversholt Street, Camden, were following a car when they were flagged down by a member of the public.

In Aldenham Street, outside a block of flats, officers found a 16-year-old boy who had been stabbed. He remains in hospital with non-life threatening injuries.



At this stage it is believed that the victim was with another boy in Chalton Street when a group of about three men chased them before stabbing the victim.

After the Aldenham Street incident, police were called by the ambulance service at about 8.30pm to Bartholomew Road to reports of a seriously injured teenager.



Officers found a 17-year-old boy who had been stabbed. He is believed to be Abdikarim Hassan, who lived in the Camden area. He died at the scene.

Police were then called at 10.13pm to reports of a disturbance in Malden Road, where they found a 20-year-old man with serious stab wounds. He died at the scene and has been named as Sadiq Aadam Mohamed.

Detectives have established that Mohamed and his friend were chased by a group of four men along an alleyway leading to Malden Road before they stabbed him. His friend was uninjured. The suspects then fled towards Prince of Wales Road.