Three Camden stabbings in north London which caused the deaths of two young men are being treated as linked, police said as they revealed an 18-year-old has been arrested.
Abdikarim Hassan, 17, was found with knife wounds in Bartholomew Road, Kentish Town, at 8.30pm on Tuesday and died at the scene.
Almost two hours later, Sadiq Mohamed, 20, died from serious stab injuries after being discovered, just under a mile away, on Malden Road, Belsize Park.
Around half an hour before Hassan was attacked, police discovered a 16-year-old boy in Aldenham Street who they believe was stabbed after he and another boy were chased by a group of three men.
The teenager remains in hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The Met said they were treating the incidents as linked due to their “proximity in time and locations, the nature of the attacks and developing lines of inquiry”.
An 18-year-old man was arrested on Thursday evening at an address in Camden on suspicion of two counts of murder and one of grievous bodily harm (GBH), the force said.
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Considine, leading the investigation, said the frequency with which young men “are prepared to take each other’s lives” was “shocking”.
He said: “What is clear is that there were three violent attacks, by a group of men armed with knives, within about two hours of each other and within about a mile of each other.
“I need the public’s help to establish the exact circumstances in which two young men were murdered and another seriously injured, and to identify the people responsible.”
Officers believe Abdikarim, who died of a stab wound to the chest, was attacked nearby before staggering to the road where he was given first aid by members of the public.
They have established that Mohamed was with a friend when the pair were chased by four men down an alleyway before he was stabbed and the group fled.
Police are pursuing a line of inquiry involving a blue van that was seen in the area of the two murders and are urging anyone with information to get in touch.
On Wednesday, four men in their early 20s were arrested on suspicion of GBH in connection with the Aldenham Street stabbing and have been released under investigation.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the force on 020 8345 3734, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.