People living near Primrose Hill have said “something needs to be done” to address knife crime after a teenage boy was stabbed to death on New Year’s Eve.
Police cordons were been in place at the park today (January 1) after a boy, 16, was stabbed at 11.40pm on December 31.
Despite the best efforts of emergency services, he died at the scene.
The Metropolitan Police today (January 1) identified the victim as Harry Pitman.
One woman who went to Primrose Hill to celebrate the start of 2024 said “there was quite a large crowd” in the build-up to the midnight countdown, and she was already concerned about people’s safety due to the wet mud following heavy rain that day.
She said: “There were two police vans that made their way up the hill about 10 minutes to midnight, but initially I thought perhaps it was because people were letting off fireworks in the crowd.
“The firework display was lovely and I decided to make my way down the hill just before it had finished to avoid large crowds or chaos and left pretty swiftly.”
It was only the next morning that she realised a boy had been killed.
She continued: “It seemed very orderly and an overall joyous vibe, which is why I was quite shocked to hear of the stabbing. It was really horrible that such a young life was lost at the beginning of the year.”
This morning, people in the area hoped to enter the park to go for a stroll or walk their dogs.
One man, who said he lived in the area for 40 years, only discovered what happened after talking with police.
He told the Ham&High that he asked his wife if they should go to Primrose Hill last night to watch the fireworks, but decided it was too cold and would be busy.
The man said: “You would never expect something like this to happen here.”
He added: “There is something that needs to be done to monitor the behaviour here, but I would not like to see it [the park] closed completely.”
Others briefly mentioned that there were many people who appeared to be intoxicated in the park. Litter could be seen scattered across the area and not cleaned up due to the crime scene.
A single white forensic tent could be seen near the top of the hill by the viewpoint.
One man, 43, described the stabbing as “awful”.
He had gone to Primrose Hill to walk his dog with his teenage daughter and wife but was told the park could be closed for a while.
The father said: “It is awful. It is. And I remember it’s not that long ago since that woman was killed a few years ago.
”But there must’ve been so many people here yesterday - it’s always like that for the New Year.
”I only imagine people must’ve seen something happen so I guess police should be getting a lot of information.”
Neighbourhood group Primrose Hill Watch has estimated that 20,000 to 50,000 people had come to watch the fireworks from the park.
Numbers attending #PrimroseHill last night to watch fireworks on NYE were huge. Estimates coming in range from 20,000 - 50,000 pic.twitter.com/9utvtcIsD6
— Primrose Hill Watch (@PrimroseWatch) January 1, 2024
Councillor Pat Callaghan, acting leader of Camden Council and cabinet member for safer communities, said: “We are working closely with the police to support them with this investigation.
"We are also stepping up visible patrols with the police in the Primrose Hill area to provide reassurance to residents over the next few days.
“We will continue to work with our partners to do all we can to keep young people safe in Camden.”
Officers believe the area was busy with people at the time. If you saw what happened or have information, mobile phone footage or other material that can help police, call 101 or contact @MetCC on X / Twitter, referencing CAD 6649/31 Dec.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article