STOCKWELL (S.LONDON) - Yobs 'like a pack of animals'

Yobs 'like a pack of animals'
http://icsouthlondon.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200southlondonheadlines/tm_headline=yobs-like-a-pack-of-animals&method=full&objectid=19561144&siteid=50100-name_page.html

A MAN has been arrested on suspicion of knifing a mountain biker to death in a vicious gang attack.

Shocked witnesses told how up to 15 yobs tore into the victim "like a pack of animals" on Tuesday night.
The terrifying attack happened at around 8pm at the bottom of a stairwell on the South Lambeth Estate in Stockwell.

Yesterday cops confirmed a 21-year-old man had been taken into custody in connection with the murder.He was being quizzed at a South London police station.

Residents told how Leon Nelson, 23, was stabbed by yobs at the bottom of the stairs in Pulham House before his attackers fled.

Moments before the attack, a row broke out in front of the launderette in Dorset Road involving around 15 men and boys on bikes.
The clash then escalated into a mass fight before Leon was stabbed.
A neighbour said: "They were all on their bikes and they just pounced. He was lying there covered in blood just at the bottom of the stairs.
"There was about 13 or 15 of them and it was like a pack of animals.They all scattered after they stabbed him, and he was just lying there."

A teenager, who did not want to be named, said: "Leon was always hanging around here on his bike. You never saw him walking - always riding his mountain bike.
"He wasn't a bad guy at all and I can't believe why someone would want to do this to him."

One woman, who regularly visits her mum on the South Lambeth Estate, said she feared for her family's safety.
Shaz, who did not want to give her full name, told the South London Press: "It's gone from bad to worse to worse - it's never got better."
Shaz, who grew up on the estate, added: "There are different kids from different estates coming round here.
"To have a murder on your doorstep shocks you.
"I have got two young children. We need CCTV here and plain-clothes police patrols."

Another mum on the estate said the killing brought back memories of losing her own son to crime at Christmas in east London.
The woman, who asked not to be named, said South Lambeth Estate was a quiet place but news of the killing had brought her grief flooding back.
Leon was rushed to a South London hospital but was pronounced dead 55 minutes after the attack.

A post-mortem held at Greenwich Mortuary on Wednesday ruled the cause of death was a single stab wound to the stomach.

Leading the investigation, Detective Inspector Rick Murphy, of the Met's Homocide and Specialist Crime Directorate,said: "We are appealing for anyone who may have seen any suspicious activity that night to come forward."

Anyone with information should call the incident room at Lewisham police station on 020 8721 4905 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
* Lambeth's top cop, Chief Superintendent Sharon Rowe, will hold a special borough commander's surgery at the estate where 16-year-old Abukar Mahamud was shot dead last week.

She will be on hand from 2.30pm on Monday at Stockwell Gardens Estate.