Six stabbed in hours after Arsenal Premier League victory parade

By Margaret Davis, Press Association Crime Correspondent

Six people were stabbed in the hours after the Arsenal victory parade, the Metropolitan Police have confirmed, with a total of 24 arrests during the event.

Thousands of Arsenal fans lined the streets around the Emirates Stadium in London on Sunday as the team embarked on their Premier League trophy parade.

The Met deployed more than 500 officers to police the event, which saw 10 suspects arrested on suspicion of assaulting the police, one of whom allegedly threw racist abuse.

One officer suffered a slash wound to the hand and another was hit on the head by an object thrown by the crowd, the force said.

The other arrests were for offences including sexual assault, GBH, possession of class C drugs, possession of a knife, being drunk and disorderly, obstructing police, affray, and breach of a dispersal order.

Four police vans in Therberton Street, Islington, were also left with broken lights and dents.

On Sunday, London Fire Brigade warned fans not to climb on rooftops after crews had to rescue 75 fans from places at a height when they got stuck.

In the evening, once most of the crowds had gone home, there were six stabbings, the Met said.

Most of the victims were not seriously hurt, but a man in his 20s had to be taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition, and has since been stabilised.

Officers were granted extra stop and search powers overnight.

Commander Stuart Bell, who led the Met’s public order operation for the parade, said: “I would like to thank the vast majority of the hundreds of thousands of Arsenal supporters who attended the day to celebrate safely and responsibly.

“There was a police presence along the route throughout the event, supporting event organisers and stewarding operations.

“However, we had been clear that violence and other criminality would not be tolerated and unfortunately there were pockets of anti-social behaviour and incidents where officers needed to intervene, including assaults on their colleagues.

“As the evening progressed and the majority of the crowds made their way home, there was sadly further violence, including gang-related incidents.

“Officers were swiftly on scene to each stabbing and investigations are ongoing.”

Chief Superintendent Jason Stewart, who leads policing in Islington, said on Monday: “This, of course, was a huge and significant event for our community and Arsenal fans more widely and we worked closely with the local authority and other partners to plan for the event and then throughout the day.

“Our officers are back out on patrol today to provide visible reassurance and our investigation teams are working hard to identify offenders and bring them to justice.

“We stand with our local communities against violence.”