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Omani student among three dead in London stabbings in 12 hours

<span>Photograph: Tom Pilgrim/PA</span>
Photograph: Tom Pilgrim/PA

An Omani student has been named as one of three young men killed in a series of unrelated stabbings in London in a little over 12 hours.

Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Araimi, 26, was was stabbed in a suspected robbery near Harrods in Knightsbridge, west London, as he and a friend made their way home from a nearby restaurant late on Thursday evening.

He was found unconscious with a stab wound to the back just after midnight, and pronounced dead on Brompton Road 40 minutes later.

The Omani embassy posted in Arabic on Twitter: “There was an unfortunate attack that claimed the life of the Omani student Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Araimi.

“The Embassy is closely following the circumstances of the incident with the competent British authorities. We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return.”

The Metropolitan police said that a second man was also injured in the attack, which is believed to have been carried out by two men. He remains in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police have launched a murder investigation and no arrests have been made. DCI Andy Partridge said: “We retain an open mind concerning the motive for the attack and are pursuing a number of lines of enquiry at a pace. I urge anyone who has information concerning this incident to contact my team who are waiting to speak with you.”

Meanwhile, detectives have charged 26-year-old Kieran Brown with the murder of Exauce Ngimbi in Hackney, east London.

Ngimbi was attacked in Clarence Mews shortly after 2pm on Thursday and died half an hour later.

Brown, from Hackney, is due to appear at Thames magistrates court on Saturday and is also charged with possession of a bladed article.

Three other men, aged 14 to 26, have been bailed pending further inquiries.

Crosslom Davis, a member of the south London drill group Harlem Spartans, was stabbed to death in the capital about 12 and a half hours after Ngimbi.

The 20-year-old, also known by his rap name Bis, used to perform alongside Latwaan Griffiths, who was murdered in July 2018 at the age of 18.

He was pronounced dead just after 3.30am on Friday in Deptford, south-east London.

Harlem Spartans, who regularly rapped about violence and knifings, have achieved prominence, with Davis’s latest song attracting close to a million views on YouTube. They were championed by Tim Westwood when they performed on the former Radio 1 DJ’s YouTube channel in 2017.

England footballer Jadon Sancho, 19, paid tributeto Davis online, tweeting: “Rest up bis.”

DCI John Massey said: “While we tirelessly work to piece together the events that sadly led to a young man losing his life, I would appeal to those who have information to do the right thing and speak to us.”

Commander Jane Connors confirmed that the three murders were not linked. She said: “Each one of these attacks is a tragedy, not just for the victims and their families and friends, but for our wider communities who are left reeling by this senseless violence.”