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Another stabbing on Church Street, police make two arrests

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First aid: passers-by helped the shopkeeper after this morning’s attack on Church Street

A Church Street shopkeeper was stabbed this morning, as two boys robbed his store. The boys have been described by an eye-witness as being as young as 13 to 15 years old.

It took police officers 30 minutes to attend the scene, according to on-lookers.

The man’s wounds are thought to be not serious.

This latest incident occurred just yards away from where Rijkaard Siafa was attacked and killed in an incident on Surrey Street in April this year.

Scotland Yard this afternoon issued this statement: “Police were called at approximately 11.20 on Thursday, July 11, to reports of a stabbing in Church Street.

“Officers and London Ambulance Service attended and found a man suffering a stab injury – he was taken to hospital for treatment.

“Two males were arrested at the scene on suspicion of GBH and robbery. Both remain in custody. A crime scene remains in place.”

Traders working in Surrey Street market and Church Street say that they remain neglected by the police, the council and the local BID, “business improvement district”, that receives public grants used to pay private security contractors to patrol North End. Croydon Mayor Jason Perry is a director of Croydon BID.

Shopkeepers and stall-holders on Surrey Street say that they have been appealing for greater police presence on the market, to deal with rising incidents of crime, including drug dealing going on in broad daylight. “We’re ignored by the police,” said one source.

Crime watch: Anthony King, left, together with Croydon Mayor Jason Perry

Yet meanwhile, in the past three years, the MyEnds organisation, run by “community organiser” Anthony King, which operates in partnership with Croydon Voluntary Action, has received £1.6million in grants from MOPAC – the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime – with a brief to work with Croydon’s communities in an effort to reduce gang-related and drugs-related violent crime.

In 2023, 11 people were killed on the streets of Croydon.

Croydon Council has a Neighbourhood Safety Board, which since 2018 has been chaired by “community organiser” Donna Murray-Turner. The Board is supposed to be the borough-wide forum for the public and councillors to scrutinise the police’s operations in the borough. With Murray-Turner as chair, Croydon’s Neighbourhood Safety Board has not held a single meeting since 2019.

Following today’s latest knife crime incident in the town centre, Superintendent Mitch Carr, who leads for community policing in Croydon, told Inside Croydon: “We acknowledge the concerns of those who work in Surrey Street and our town centre officers regularly patrol the area and speak to market traders.

“We also need this to be a full partnership approach, as improving the perception of safety in Croydon town centre cannot be achieved just by the police.

Police patrol: Supt Mitch Carr

“We will continue to work closely with key partners including the local authority, Croydon BID and community organisations.”

The Metropolitan Police is appealling for witnesses to today’s knife attack on Church Street. Anyone with information is asked to call 101 or ‘X’ @MetCC and quote CAD3082/11Jul.

You can also provide information anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Read more: After five-week delay, police issue appeal over bus stabbing
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Read more: Croydon in 2023: London’s borough with most murder victims

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