Crime reporter(wp/es):
A man was left fighting for life after he was stabbed during a “vicious” mugging in front of horrified parents and children in a busy park.
The 31-year-old victim was attacked with what is believed to be a screwdriver in Dulwich Park, south London, just after 1pm on Thursday.
The Italian national, who lives in south east London, had been sitting on a patch of grass with a fellow dog walker when the man on the bicycle demanded his phone then stabbed him.
The friend who was with him, who had her handbag stolen by the thief, told the Weastar Times: “It was a vicious and shocking attack… now my friend is in intensive care and we are praying he will be ok.”
“Me and my friend were just sitting on the lawn with our dogs who were playing by us,” she said. “I noticed a guy on his bike crossing the grass.
“He returned within a few seconds, got off his bike and raised a sharp objected and said to my friend ‘give me your phone’.
“My friend just said ‘what?’ then he stabbed him in the head. There was no time for him to even get out his phone and give it to him.
“The guy shouted at me ‘you don’t move’ and I raised my handbag towards him as if to say ‘just take my bag’.
“Then the guy stabbed my friend again, this time in the left side, took my bag and rode off.”
The freelance writer described how she used her scarf to stem blood coming from her friend’s head, before other members of the public came over and helped him before emergency services arrived.
An air ambulance landed near a packed children’s playground less than 100 yards away and the man was rushed to King’s College Hospital in Denmark Hill where he remained in a critical condition today.
Parents said top private schools in the area including Alleyn’s and Dulwich College sent a message warning them not to allow their children to go to the park because of the incident.
The man was seen cycling out of the park at Court Lane. Police believe he attempted to use the woman’s contactless payment card in a nearby shop.
Gerry Fletcher, who was in the park with a friend, said: “It’s just horrific. It’s such a lovely, peaceful park and the playground would have packed with children. We just hope the man is going to be ok.”
A parks worker told the Standard: “We were told by police to look out for any screwdrivers that might be in bins. Police are checking all the bins this morning. It’s a shocking thing to have happened.”
The victim appealed for any witnesses to anyone who knows anything to come forward.
“It was over a phone, my bag, which had just £50 inside" she said. “And now my friend is fighting for his life."
There have been no arrests. The stabbing is being investigated by Southwark Police.
A Met Police spokesman said: “The man was taken to a south London hospital where his condition is described as critical. His next of kin have been informed.
“It is believed the stabbing may have followed the robbery of a woman by a third party a short distance away.”
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