Police Confirm 5 New Stabbings and Further Arrests at Notting Hill Carnival

Police officers on Ladbroke Grove during the Notting Hill Carnival in London over the weekend between Aug. 25 and 26, 2024. Lucy North/PA

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.

On Monday, the Metropolitan Police reported, on social media platform X, five stabbings, where some victims sustained slash wounds, and an incident involving a corrosive substance.

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.

“This was supposed to be ‘family day’—a celebration suitable for all ages. One of those in hospital, a 32-year-old woman whose condition remains critical, was at Carnival with her young child. We are tired of saying the same words every year. We are tired of telling families that their loved ones are seriously injured, or worse. We are tired of seeing crime scenes at Carnival,” said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan.

‘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.

Investigations related to other incidents at the carnival continue.

‘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.

In 2023, there were 10 reported stabbings at the carnival, none of them fatal. Officers made a total of 308 arrests, including 57 for assault on police. This year, the Metropolitan Police Federation (MetFed) reported that 15 officers were assaulted on the second day of the carnival.

“Punched, headbutted, spat at. Sadly predictable,” the association said in a post on X.

The MetFed called the attacks on police officers during the carnival “an annual event.”

“More than 100 of our Metropolitan Police colleagues were assaulted at the Carnival last year ... 70 the year before. Sexual assaults, physical assaults as well as being urinated on and spat on. We are tired of saying the same words every year,” it said on Tuesday.

Calls to change the location of the carnival surfaced last year, amid concerns that the narrow streets of west London make it more dangerous. The policing minister at the time, Chris Philp said he would look into moving the event from west London if the police advise it.

Ahead of this year’s event, the newly-elected Labour government called the Notting Hill Carnival “a vibrant celebration of Caribbean culture and Black history through music, art and dance.”