London Murder Rate High Than New York Despite Prohibited Gun Ownership

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The UK has one of the toughest gun control laws in the world, but despite this fact, London has overtaken New York City's for the first time ever as twelve people have been killed in just 19 days.

As the 'anti-gun' debate rages on in the United States amid the recent Flordia shooting at parkland high school, the question remains if whether gun free zones have any effect on the homicide rate.

In February, London saw more murders than the American city of New York, who saw a total of 15 homicides, nine of which were aged 30 years old or younger.

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The murder epidemic continued in London on Sunday when a man in his twenties was fatally stabbed after leaving a bar in Wandsworth, marking the 12th person to be murdered in London in 19 days.

According to the Daily Mail: Police have launched the latest murder investigation in the death of the unnamed young man who was stabbed to death on Easter Sunday.

He suffered a fatal stab wound at around 1:10am on Sunday, after leaving a bar in Wandsworth, south-west London.

Met Police attended the scene along with the London Ambulance Service. Despite the best efforts of officers and paramedics, the man was pronounced dead at the scene just before 2 am.

Formal identification awaits and a post-mortem examination will take place in due course, but the victim's next-of-kin have been informed.

A 21-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and is currently in custody at a west London police station.

According to a report by the Sunday Times, New York City's murder statistics have decreased by 87 percent since the 1990s.

Meanwhile, London's rate has grown by nearly 40 percent in just three years, not including deaths caused by terrorist attacks.

Although New York last year had nearly double the number of murders than London, experts are concerned the gap is steadily closing.

Officials are concerned about the uptick in fatal stabbings, fearing there is a dangerous surge in knife crime.

Last year there was a total of 80 fatal stabbings in the capital - the most in almost a decade. And official figures show that 2017 was the worst year for knife deaths among young people since at least 2002.

Forty-six people aged 25 or under were stabbed to death in London, up by 21 compared with the previous year, according to police figures.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell said on Sunday: 'Sadly, another family has been left devastated with the tragic death of a young man from an act of violence.

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'We are appealing to anyone who was in the area to come forward.

'We know that the victim left a bar in Garratt Lane, SW18 at 01:05hrs and then seven minutes later he was found on Ellerton Road at the junction with Burntwood Lane.'

The victim's death comes as London's murder rates have overtaken New York City 's numbers for the first time ever.

The man's death on Sunday marks the 12th murder in London in 19 days.

Lyndon Davis, 18, the youngest to have been killed in March, was found suffering from a single stab wound in Chadwell Heath, east London on March 14.

Joseph Williams-Torres, 20, was killed the same evening as he sat in a stationary car in Essex Close, Walthamstow.

Russell Jones, 23, was ambushed outside shops near Ponders End station, in Enfield and stabbed and shot to death.

Father-of-two Tyrone Silcott, 42, died from knife wounds on March 18 after a St Patrick’s Day party.

It is alleged the car mechanic got into a row over two girls at a party in Homerton and was attacked.

Hersi Hersi, who lived as a trans woman called Naomi, was pronounced dead at the scene after being found with knife injuries at Heathrow Palace in Haslemere Avenue, Hounslow, at 10.50am on Sunday.

On March 19, Balbir Johal, 48, died after being stabbed in Southall and the next day 41-year-old Jermaine Johnson died of knife wounds in Walthamstow.

Romanian Beniamin Pieknyi, is believed to have jumped into the fight in a bid to save his friend during the altercation at the Stratford Centre in east London on the 20th.

The 20-year-old, who only arrived in Britain two months ago, died in his best friend's arms after being chased and stabbed by a gang in the busy shopping center.

On March 25, 26-year-old Abraham Badru was gunned down in Hackney.

The university graduate, who was murdered in Dalston, east London, on Sunday, was awarded the National Police Bravery Award in July 2009.

David Potter, 50, was found stabbed to death in a property on Tooting High Street on Monday 26.

And an unnamed 23-year-old in Greenwich was killed on Thursday night, the final murder for the month of March.