Police launch murder probe after teenager fatally stabbed in Battersea

The Metropolitan Police launched a murder investigation after a 17-year-old boy was fatally stabbed on Glycena Road in Battersea, just before dawn on Saturday. Officers were called at about 04:20hrs to reports of a stabbing following a possible altercation near Lavender Hill, in a part of south-west London where young people move between residential streets and late-night venues.

Police said officers arrived with the London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance and found the teenager with serious injuries. Paramedics tried to save him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. His next-of-kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers, while a large crime scene remains in place and surrounding roads stay closed.

No arrests have been made. Detectives are now trying to piece together the moments before and after the attack on Glycena Road, a residential street a few minutes’ walk from Battersea Arts Centre. The timing of the incident, in the early hours of the morning, has put a sharp focus on who was in the Lavender Hill area between 04:00hrs and 05:00hrs and what they may have seen as people moved through the side roads around the scene.

Detective Chief Inspector Brian Howie said: “This is a critical stage of the investigation... If you were in the Lavender Hill area between 04:00hrs and 05:00hrs... and witnessed a group of males running, please come forward.” Police are also asking for any CCTV, doorbell or mobile phone footage from Glycena Road, Acanthus Road or Pountney Road, hoping to trace movements in the minutes before and after the killing.

The death will add to concern about knife violence in Wandsworth and across London, especially when victims are teenagers. Metropolitan Police data show knife-enabled crime in London is tracked through monthly and quarterly bulletins, and the latest figures indicate monthly totals in Financial Year 2025/26 were lower than in 2024/25. Even so, Wandsworth Council says its Serious Violence forum is focused on violence and exploitation affecting young people under 25, underlining how closely this kind of killing is bound up with wider safeguarding concerns rather than a single street crime.