Five people have been stabbed on the closing day of the Notting Hill Carnival, with three people overall remaining in a life-threatening condition, the police have confirmed.
In its latest update, the police said that two people, stabbed on Monday, and a 32-year-old woman stabbed on Sunday are in life-threatening condition.
‘Significant Step’
Detectives investigating the stabbing of the 32-year-old victim arrested three men on Tuesday morning.Three men in their early 20s were arrested at separate addresses in Hammersmith and Fulham on suspicion of attempted murder and violent disorder. They remain in police custody.
The Met’s spokesperson for Notting Hill Carnival, Commander Charmain Brenyah, called the arrests a “significant step in the investigation.”
“They are the result of a determined effort by detectives who have worked around the clock to identify, locate and arrest these suspects. We should not underestimate how much more difficult those vital early stages of an investigation are when they take place in the context of a busy, crowded event like Carnival,” said Brenyah.
Initial inquiries in the investigation suggest the 32-year-old woman got caught up in an altercation between two groups of men. The Metropolitan Police said that it’s not yet clear if they were known to her.
‘An Annual Event’
The carnival, taking place in the streets of west London, is an annual celebration of Caribbean heritage, arts, and culture. It has been running for more than 50 years.Authorities have confirmed that 230 arrests have been made at this year’s event, including 49 for possession of offensive weapons and 40 arrests of class B drugs.
Among other offenses that led to arrests were sexual offenses, assault on emergency worker, and violence with injury.
“It is the responsibility of all who value this event, who want to see it as the celebration it should be, to speak out and speak up about the violence that continues to overshadow it,” Adelekan said.
The MetFed called the attacks on police officers during the carnival “an annual event.”