It was meant to be a ‘family fun day’ at a park in Ladbroke Grove, but everything turned to horror when a gunman in a cap and balaclava fired a warning shot in the air then blasted Rene Graham in the chest. The 15-year-old, who died at Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance Park on July 21, was one of ten teenagers to be stabbed to death or gunned down on the streets of London in 2024.
A month on from her son’s murder, and still searching for answers, Rene’s mum Janay John-Francois said: “The emptiness and heartbreak, there are no words that can capture the agony of my loss.” Despite four early arrests, police are still hunting the culprit. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the killing was a ‘shocking reminder’ of the need to end street violence.
Reports published by the Youth Endowment Fund this year found 20 per cent of teenage children have been a victim of violence, with 61 per cent of these incidents leading to physical injury. The charity also found 16 per cent of children had been a perpetrator of violence, with half of those also a victim themselves.
The report writers also found close links between vulnerability and violence. Carrying weapons, being in a gang, and being excluded from school were the biggest risk factors, with involvement in drugs and going missing also significant.
In another report YEF found 70 per cent of respondents have encountered real-world violence online in the past 12 months, with TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) the most common sites. Nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of teenagers who report perpetrating violence in the past year say that social media has played a role in their behaviour.
While these figures are cause for alarm, the number of teenagers killed in London in 2024 was lower than in recent years. In 2021 there were 30 teenage homicides, followed by 14 in 2022, and 21 in 2023.
Idris Elba, who launched a campaign earlier this year calling for an immediate ban on machetes and zombie knives, said tackling serious youth violence was ‘moving in the right direction’ as he launched a Don’t Stop Your Future (DSYF) pop-up shop just before Christmas. The 52-year-old Luther actor and met Sir Keir Starmer in September to launch a new anti-knife crime coalition.
This summer, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan also announced £2m funding for activities to divert young people away from violence over the holidays. Mr Khan said tackling violence was his ‘top priority’ and he wanted young people ‘to be safe, to develop and to thrive’.