A THIRD of London's fatal shootings have taken place in just ONE borough – as the number of stabbings makes up more than HALF of murders.
Three of the nine murders where the victims were shot took place within THREE miles of each other in Haringey, North London.
Lawless London has also seen a spike in slayings from knife crime in the aftermath of pandemic restrictions being lifted in the capital.
Every borough has had at least one homicide this year, excluding the City of London which has had none.
A Sun Investigation has revealed that Haringey and Greenwich are the deadliest of the London boroughs – with eleven murder investigations being launched.
It has also seen a third of fatal gun crime taking place, with Taylor Cox, 19, Sharmake Mohamud, 22, and an unnamed man in his 20s all being shot.
The three young men were all gunned down within a three mile radius of each other, within five months.
Paying tribute to Taylor, his family described how he had only just gotten over being stabbed in the chest the year before.
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They said: "He was a loving boy. He became less confident after the stabbing and didn't want to go to certain places.
“If he went out he took a cab because he was scared for his life. We aren't going to get over it because we all miss him.
“He brightens up all of our lives and that spark has gone. We have got to live with that forever."
Croydon takes the third bloodiest spot with at least eight killings, while Brent, Lambeth and Newham come after with seven killings.
Of the eleven murders in Greenwich, South-East London, seven of the victims were stabbed to death.
Primary school teacher Sabina Nessa, 28, was attacked in Cator Park, Kidbrooke, while she was on her way to meet a friend on 17 September.
Her body was found covered with grass near a community centre in the park, and Koci Selamaj, 36, has been charged with her murder.
Dad Emmanuel Ogabi, 26, was stabbed to death in Woolwich in OCtober after being attacked by a group of men who "chased him down an alley".
We appeal to everyone out there who carries a knife with the intent to harm another human, please drop the knife
His dad, Pastor Samuel Ogabi and his mum, Bola Ogabi, have called on those who carry knives to stop in order to save lives.
They said: “He was chased down the alley, and running for his life, he screamed out for help, and no one came to his aid. He was slaughtered in the street, and left to bleed to death.
"The anguish, loss and the pain we feel as a family is indescribable, and no family should ever have to feel this pain or deal with such a loss.
“Emmanuel is dead, and never to walk these streets again, the least we can do is get him justice.
“We appeal to everyone out there who carries a knife with the intent to harm another human, please drop the knife!”
The Met have launched at least 136 murder investigations this year, with 88 of those coming from fatal knife attacks.
Of the total number of deaths so far this year 64 per cent have been fatal stabbings, up from around 55 per cent in 2020.
Fatal gun crime has dropped from last year, from 14 to 11 incidents, making up nine per cent of the total.
The number of teenagers who have been killed this year is the highest since World War Two – with 30 murders making 2021 the capitals bloodiest.
While figures show violence fell by more than a quarter during lockdown in London, the number of murders is now on the rise.
Commander Alex Murray said: “I am deeply saddened by every single homicide this year, and I am greatly concerned by those that have been teenage killings. Each one is a tragedy, leaving behind heartbroken families and concerned communities.
“My thoughts are with the victims and all those impacted. These victims are not statistics and they are not just numbers, they all had families, and they all had their lives ahead of them.
Knives are now the most common murder instrument in London and there is no sign that will change anytime soon.
"They and their families have been robbed of something precious and we should all be doing everything we can to stop this.
“These devastating losses continue to motivate every single officer at the Met to work around the clock to catch those responsible and take weapons off the street.
“We are devoting huge resources into preventing homicides and violence from happening in the first place.
“Our continued efforts are starting to have a collective impact, with data showing positive reductions across serious violent crime categories.
“This year to November 2021, compared to the same period prior to the pandemic in 2019, has seen: knife crime decrease by 32% and knife injury victims aged under 25 reduce by 29%.
“However, I am well aware these reductions will not be of much comfort to those bereaved and clearly there is more to be done.
“We know that reducing violent crime relies on joint efforts from across communities and agencies which is why we continue to work with our partners and the community to find lasting solutions. We’ve seen encouraging results from this approach.
“Tackling violence is our top priority and we are committed to making London safer.
“We encourage the public to call the independent charity Crimestoppers, with any information they may have about violent crime in their area –any information, no matter how small, could save a life."
Earlier this year the Met launched a “surge” of officers onto the streets in a bit to stop the rising tide of violence.
MENACE OF KNIFE CRIME
Home Office data reveals that knife crime dropped by 17 per cent in response to the pandemic.
But when restrictions were lifted it then rose 12 per cent higher than it was in 2020.
Anti-knife crime campaigner Patrick Green, CEO of The Ben Kinsella Trust, told the Sun: "While the pandemic has disrupted all our lives, it has failed to stop the menace of knife crime.
"In fact, these figures confirm our darkest fears, knife crime is getting worse.
"Knives are now the most common murder instrument in London and there is no sign that will change anytime soon.”
“2021 has been a terrible year for teenage murders in London. Young people are particularly vulnerable to knife crime and for many the pandemic has made the situation worse.
"Lockdown restrictions made it harder for young people to access youth services and this made it easier for gangs to exploit our most at risk young people.”
So far, up to June 2021 there have been 20,726 cases involving a knife, which is down from 22,461 in June 2019.
Data also showed that the number of offenders receiving immediate custody decreased from 38 percent in 2020 to 29 per cent in 2021.
However there was an increase in the number of suspended and community sentences, up from 20 per cent to 24 per cent and 21 per cent to 26 per cent.
Similarly, the average custodial sentence length for a knife and offensive weapon offence decreased from 7.9 months in 2020 to 7.6 months in 2021.
A Home Office report found that this was most likely to be a result of the types of cases prioritised during the pandemic.
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