Finsbury Park

[Al-khiyal]

العثور على شاب جزائري مقتول بوسط لندن

Algerian’s death in square ‘suspicious’

April 2, 2010 -- An inquest was opened on Wednesday into the death of a man whose body was found in Bedford Square. He was named as Algerian national Fethi Bouchareb, 26, at St Pancras Coroner’s Court. Detective Inspector Leon James spoke only to confirm the identity of the dead man before the case was adjourned. Following the discovery of the body in the Bloomsbury square last Thursday at 9am, detectives and forensics officers spent the day combing the grassy areas and flowerbeds for clues. The death was immediately declared suspicious but is yet to be described as a murder as police wait to establish how Mr Bouchareb died. An initial post-mortem examination, carried out over the weekend, was inconclusive and tests continue. It is understood that one line of inquiry is the possibility that Mr Bouchareb was strangled.

[Al-khiyal]

Bus stop knife attack on 18-year-old Algerian

April 14, 2010 -- A knife maniac stabbed a teenager seven times at a bus stop in what police say was a completely unprovoked attack. The 18-year-old Algerian victim had only been in London for two weeks, after moving from Newcastle to Finsbury Park, when he was ambushed in Junction Road, Archway, at 12.30am on Tuesday. His heart stopped beating when he first arrived at hospital but doctors carried out emergency surgery.

Police are now desperate to find his attacker. Acting Detective Sergeant Emma Bird, who is leading the investigation from Islington CID, said: "We haven't got many witnesses but as far as we know the victim was standing at the bus stop near the Planet Kebab shop at the Archway end of Junction Road when a man started insulting him. For no apparent reason, the man then attacked him, stabbing him six times in the back and once in the ear. Police arrived to find the victim sat on the pavement drenched in his own blood and suffering stab wounds. He was taken to hospital with severe blood loss and a punctured lung. He suffered a cardiac arrest when he first arrived, but underwent emergency surgery and came round on Tuesday afternoon."

Police have spoken to witnesses in the flats overlooking the crime scene, but say there must have been other people about waiting for buses, making their way home or buying take away food. "There were two kebab shops that were open and it is quite a busy area at that time," said DS Bird. "Someone must have seen what happened. We have an 18-year-old suffering serious stab wounds, so I am asking anyone who knows anything about who did this to come forward." The knifeman was a light-skinned black man, about 6ft tall, and wearing a black hoodie and baseball cap. Anyone with any information should call DS Bird on 020 7421 0185.