Six people were stabbed after Arsenal's Premier League victory parade in north London on Sunday, the Metropolitan Police has said. The stabbings occurred in the evening after most crowds had dispersed, with 24 people arrested. One man in his 20s was taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition but has since been stabilised; most victims did not suffer serious injuries.
Hundreds of thousands of supporters lined streets around the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal celebrated winning the league title for the first time in 22 years. More than 500 officers were deployed to police the event. Ten arrests were on suspicion of assaulting police officers, with one officer suffering a slash wound to the hand and another struck on the head by an object thrown from the crowd.
Three people were arrested on suspicion of sexual assault, with other offences including grievous bodily harm, being drunk and disorderly, obstructing police, affray and breach of a dispersal order. Three people were also arrested in relation to alleged drugs offences, including one person also arrested on suspicion of possessing a knife. Four police vans parked on Theberton Street in Islington were damaged, with broken lights and dents reported.
The London Fire Brigade rescued about 75 people who became stuck at height after climbing onto rooftops and other structures to watch the parade. A small fire at a hotel was believed to have been caused by a flare. Police authorised extra stop-and-search powers overnight after patterns of violence in north London.
Commander Stuart Bell, who led the Met's public order operation, said there had been 'pockets of antisocial behaviour' during the event. 'As the evening progressed and the majority of the crowds made their way home, there was sadly further violence, including gang-related incidents,' he said. Ch Supt Jason Stewart said officers would continue patrols while investigations continued.
