Despite three serious stabbings in the span of three weeks, London police say there is not much officers can do to combat the spike in knife violence.
On May 16, Jesse Scott James was killed with a knife outside a downtown bar. Just three days later, a five-year-old girl was rushed to hospital with life-threatening stab wounds and on June 5 a man in his forties was stabbed in front of Beal Secondary School.
"None of them are related. Each stabbing incident is totally independent... There is no correlation as to why they happened when they did," says Constable Ken Steeves with the London Police Service. "Only the people involved can answer as to why they did what they did and it could be several months before we see another."
He tells BlackburnNews.com while the police focus on cracking down on guns, knives are so common and accessible there is nothing that can be done.
"Anyone can carry a knife and it not be illegal. What makes it illegal is the purpose or way in which they carry the knife," notes Steeves.
In 2014, London's two murders were a result of stabbings. The first happened in May when Jeremy Taylor, 28, was attacked at a Clarence St. home then in May Shane Sturgess, 45, was stabbed in front of an Adelaide St. home and later died in hospital. The Adelaide St. home was also the scene of an earlier stabbing in 2012, which claimed the life of 19-year-old Jared McKnight.
Only six months into this year and London has already surpassed the homicide rate for the previous year. There have been a total of three murders since January 1 of 2015. In each case the cause of death has been different, only one has been a result of a knife, the others a killed by a gunshot wound and a beating.
Police say this does not reflect a spike in violent crime and all of those accused knew their victims.
Since this article was published another man has been stabbed at Riverside Dr. and Wharncliffe Rd. He is in critical condition.
