Shocking moment masked knifeman tries to stab passerby before fleeing on another day in Lawless London

This is the shocking moment a masked knifeman tried to stab a passerby before fleeing in London today.

Footage shared on X, formerly Twitter, showed a fight in Bermondsey between two men, apparently after one tried to rob the other.

In the clip filmed by a passing Uber driver, a man dressed in black and carrying a large backpack lunges for a man wearing a black hooded coat.

The second man comes back with a series of hard blows while wielding a large blade in his right hand.

The first man raises his hands defensively and takes steps back before a woman wearing a white coat steps in and pulls him away.

The man apparently carrying a large blade then marches towards him before backing away suddenly and taking off on a bicycle.

A Metropolitan police spokesperson told MailOnline this evening they were called at ‘about 12:25hrs to reports of an attempted robbery’ in Lower Road, SE16.

‘Officers responded within 5 minutes,’ the spokespersons said.

‘The suspect allegedly demanded the victims watch and threatened him with a knife.

‘The victim was not injured as a result of the incident. 

‘The suspect had left the scene prior to police arrival.

‘No arrests have been made and enquiries are ongoing.’

Just an 11 minute drive away from the altercation in Bermondsey today, police were called to Bywater Place, Surrey Quays this morning to stop a man with a crossbow from trying to break into a house. 

Police reported that they had shot dead a man believed to be in his 30s attempting to force his way into a three-storey property and harm residents.

A police cordon remained in place through Tuesday and paramedics from the London Ambulance Service attended the scene.

Neighbours to the £300,000 property, which is occupied by several families, described being woken by shouts and banging at 5am as the suspect allegedly tried to break in.

Valeria Bocanera, 37, said: ‘There was a man and a woman who were screaming and shouting at each other. It went on for about a minute or so, and then it went silent.’

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is now investigating the incident.

A Met spokesperson explained that armed officers deal with fast-moving and dangerous situations, discharging their weapons rarely.

According to the Met, it is standard procedure to hand over a case to the IOPC if a person has been shot by an officer.

On Monday, the Met also confirmed it had arrested a man after being called to reports of a person with a knife in Golders Green.

‘We were called at 13:27hrs on Monday, 29 January to reports of a man with a knife in Hamilton Road, NW11,’ a statement read.

‘Officers responded and carried out a search of the area. Shortly before 13:40hrs a 34-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon, criminal damage and racially-aggravated affray. 

‘He was taken into custody. There were no reports of any injuries. A knife was recovered at the scene.’

As many as 13,503 knife crime incidents were reported in the capital between July 2022 and June 2023 – a 21 per cent increase on the previous 12-month period.

Knife crime fell significantly during the Covid lockdowns – and remains eight per cent down on pre-pandemic levels – but has steadily increased every year since.

Between October 2021 and June 2022, emerging from lockdown, the Met recorded 11,232 knife offences in the capital – 125 incidents per 100,000 population.

There were 49,991 non-fatal crimes using knives recorded across all of England and Wales in the same period.

In 2022, London mayor Sadiq Khan revealed more than half of shootings in London and nearly a quarter of all killings were linked to gang violence.

The mayor first implemented a knife crime strategy in 2017, vowing to ‘divert young people at highest risk of offending and victimisation away from a life ruined by crime’.

‘Our communities are sick and tired of the damage being done by knife crime,’ he said.

Labour leader Keir Starmer has also offered some radical proposals to tackle knife crime if his party is to win the upcoming general election.

These include putting an end to ‘apology letters’ that allow youths to dodge knife crime charges, ensuring anyone using or carrying a blade will face ‘real consequences’.

The former head of the Crown Prosecution Service also said that he would bring in a ‘bespoke action plan’ to prevent reoffending.

The £100mn ‘Sure Start’-style intervention, Young Futures, will work with local services to proactively identify those most at risk of knife crime.

The Labour leader has also pledged to take ‘zombie’ knives and machetes off the street with a ban.