The murder of a young man of Portuguese descent in London on Saturday is under investigation, police confirmed on Monday, with the family calling for crowdfunding for the funeral.
According to the London Metropolitan Police, 20-year-old Filipe Oliveira was found stabbed at 6pm in a building in West Norwood, in the south of the British capital.
Despite the deployment of ambulance personnel and the deployment of a trauma helicopter, the young man died on the spot.
For the next 12 hours, police implemented a special regime in Lambeth Borough to stop and search suspicious individuals, but no arrests were made and security perimeters lifted.
Police have also launched a public appeal with a description of a suspect in the hope of finding witnesses or footage.
“Our investigation is making significant progress, but I will stand by testifying or urging anyone with information to come forward,” said lead researcher Kate Blackburn.
Part of the London Borough of Lambeth, the West Norwood area has a large concentration of Portuguese residents and businesses.
However, Filipe Oliveira’s family has launched a crowdfunding appeal to “pay for a funeral and say goodbye befitting the good person he was.
In about 24 hours, the appeal surpassed the target of £10,000 (11,320 euros).
“Our son and brother, Filipe, was tragically stolen from us due to a heartless crime with a knife, without provocation,” the text on the Go Fund Me website reads, noting that “he is a much loved member of our family and his loss will forever be sharply felt”.
Stabbing attacks and murders have increased in recent years in the UK, especially among young people.
Recent data from the Office for Statistics (ONS) accounted for 50,434 knife incidents in England and Wales in the 12 months to September 2022, an 11% increase over the same period in 2021.
The same agency recorded 282 homicides with a knife or sharp instrument in the 12 months to March 2022, the highest number in 76 years and an increase of 19% compared to the previous year.
Source: DN
