A 15-year-old boy who was allegedly stabbed to death by a knife-wielding zombie has been pictured for the first time.
Police said the boy’s killing was a ‘stark and sobering reminder of the dangers of zombie-style knives’ as a ban on weapons possession from now on.
His 43-year-old mother told how the boy pleaded for help at the last moment, telling her ‘I’m 15, don’t let me die’, as she struggled to stop the bleeding.
He said: ‘All the neighbors were screaming. I jumped down the stairs in my nightshirt, with no shoes or socks on, I grabbed the sheet that I had hung up and ran out to him. I saw him lying on the floor.
15-year-old Daejaun was allegedly stabbed to death by a group of up to four people
Police Territorial Support Group officers and a van met at the scene in Eglinton Road, Woolwich, where a teenager was stabbed to death on Sunday.
Metropolitan Police officers stand near a cordon and forensics tent in Woolwich yesterday
‘He said, “I’m 15, don’t let me die”. He had a slash across his forehead and a gash on his head, but he was bleeding profusely.
‘Then I saw his feet. They must have cut an artery, so I pushed and kept talking until the ambulance arrived.’
The woman, who did not want to be named, retreated when paramedics arrived but were unable to save her.
He said: ‘I’m just trying to keep him alive. The paramedic said there was nothing more I could do.’
He described the victim as a local boy he had just seen the day before dancing on the same street as a TikTok video with friends.
‘He’s as polite as anything,’ she said. ‘All the boys danced, and now it happened.’
Today, friends and loved ones leave flowers, candles and blue balloons saying ‘miss you’ on the path of the deceased.
A police cordon was raised around the crime scene as the children made a shrine to the boy.
A steady stream of young people in school uniforms visit the site to pay their respects, cry and hug, as well as leave flower bushes and light candles.
One card in flowers left at the site said: ‘Daejaun, forever in our hearts.’
Another read: ‘I love you forever, I’m so proud of you, life.’
Witnesses said the black teenager was set upon by a group of three or four attackers who jumped out of the car.
One local resident, who has lived in the area for 12 years, told the Mirror: ‘People thought there were about three or four attackers and they jumped out of the car. It happens all the time here.’
Another resident explained that the weapon was as long as his young son’s leg.
One neighbor described how another teenager witnessed the attack, saying: ‘My child witnessed everything, he was only 14 – I saw a white sheet put on the victim.
‘He didn’t have to witness this. Half the kids here saw the blade covered in blood.’
Metropolitan Police area support group officers were at the scene in Woolwich yesterday
Metropolitan Police area support group officers were at the scene in Woolwich yesterday
A police cordon at the scene on the street in Woolwich, South East London, yesterday
Metropolitan Police officers stand near a cordon and forensics tent in Woolwich yesterday
Scotland Yard later confirmed the weapon used was a ‘zombie-style knife’. Police are now hunting the killer on the run – and no arrests have been made yet.
Chief Superintendent Trevor Lawry, said: “Once again, we have to tell the family of a child that a loved one has been killed in a violent knife attack. Our thoughts are with them as they struggle to understand what happened.
The fact a 15-year-old boy’s life before him has been taken from his family in this way is a stark and chilling reminder of the dangers of zombie-style knives.
“We are committed to doing everything in our power to get these weapons off the streets.”
Metropolitan Police figures show knife crime is 9.4 per cent higher in London this year compared to the year to August 2023.
Nationally, the number of crimes involving machete, sword or zombie knives will almost double from 7,159 in 2019 to 14,195 in 2023.
Nearly 10,000 recorded offenses in 2023 involved machetes, double that of the previous five years.
Gavin Stephens, chairman of the National Council of Chief Police Officers, said: “We are very aware that bans and legislation and enforcement are only one part of the equation, and we know that there is a lot that we need to do in our various policing activities to prevent young people from violence.
A police cordon at the scene on the street in Woolwich, South East London, yesterday
Forensic officers at the scene in Woolwich yesterday after a boy was stabbed to death
A police cordon at the scene on the street in Woolwich, South East London, yesterday
‘We are not going to solve the problem of knife crime with just one aspect.’
A man who lives on Eglinton Road and did not want to be named said he heard a helicopter at his home on Sunday afternoon for about 20 minutes and that his 16-year-old son had been friends with the victim since elementary school.
She said: ‘Around midnight, I was going to the bathroom, and my son had woken up.
‘He was supposed to be sleeping but he woke up and when he said to me ‘dad, I’ve just got bad news’ and I was like ‘sleep, you’ve got school tomorrow’ and he said, ‘No. , one of my friends has been stabbed.’
‘I felt quite bad and said ‘He’s dead’.
He continued: ‘I’m glad it’s not (my son) mean but it just fills you with worry as a parent, he’s a black kid, about his age – trying to keep him away from gangs and all that. ‘
A police cordon and tents were in place on Eglinton Road yesterday morning, along with more than a dozen officers wearing helmets and carrying protective shields.
Police at the scene in Woolwich on Sunday night after a stabbing at about 6.30pm
Forensic officers at the scene in Woolwich on Sunday night after a boy was stabbed to death
Police forensic officers at the crime scene in Eglinton Road in Woolwich on Sunday night
A number of police cars were also parked nearby as officers visited surrounding properties.
A spokesman for the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The Mayor’s thoughts are with the families and friends of the teenager who died in Woolwich, as well as the wider community.
‘This appalling violence has no place on our streets. The mayor is close to the police chief and will increase patrols in the local area.’
The ban on owning zombie-style knives and machetes starts today.
It is part of efforts to reduce knife crime, with campaigners including actor Idris Elba pushing for large knives to be banned.
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 quoting reference CAD 5989/22Sep
