An elderly man riding a mobility scooter in West London has been stabbed to death, sparking a huge police manhunt for the attacker after what is thought to have been the 59th murder in the capital so far this year
The victim, who was described as a 'nice old man' and is believed to have been in his 80s, was killed yesterday afternoon in Greenford - leaving local neighbours 'deeply shocked' and London Mayor Sadiq Khan 'devastated'.
Metropolitan Police officers were called just after 4pm to Cayton Road - near South Greenford rail station and the busy A40 Western Avenue - to reports of a man with stab injuries, and he was declared dead at the scene.
Police are working to inform the victim's next of kin and there have been no arrests, with the killer still at large.
Detectives said that a crime scene was in place and 'urgent inquiries to establish what happened are ongoing'.
It marks the sixth murder investigation launched by Scotland Yard in just four days - including on Monday after a man was stabbed to death at a Korean restaurant on Poland Street near Oxford Street in the West End.
Other came after a 58-year-old woman died in Acton on Monday; a 36-year-old man was found dead in Lewisham on Sunday; a 60-year-old man died in Dagenham on Sunday, a 25-year-old man died in Walthamstow on Saturday.
Simran Advani, 25, a senior property manager who lives near where the stabbing in Greenford took place, told how she often saw an elderly man on his mobility scooter every few days and that he 'always used to smile'.
She said: 'He was a nice old man. He often goes round the block, he always went on the road not the pavement.
This is a very quiet area, you never hear any noise on this street. It's scary for a man in his 80s to be killed here.
The elderly man who had been riding a mobility scooter in Greenford, West London, yesterday has been stabbed to death
A police cordon and tent in Greenford, West London, this morning after the man riding mobility scooter was stabbed to death
Police guard a cordon in Greenford today as investigations continue following the death of the elderly man yesterday
'Most people on this road are elderly, you never hear any noise and never see any young people.
It was just like a normal day today. There's a parade of shops just round the corner under the train tracks and through an alley way which he might have been heading from or to.'
Parish Advani, whose house is near where the incident told place, told the Evening Standard that he was 'deeply shocked' by the death.
He added: 'I'm on holiday but my sister contacted me about it.
'The police have been asking if anyone has CCTV and have been door to door. It's frightening, deeply shocking to have something like this happen near your house.'
Another neighbour, who did not wish to give his name, said: 'It's not nice, it's normally quiet here. It's out of the way. I feel sorry for his family - I'm not entirely shocked with the amount of stabbing you hear on the news.
'There are not many people coming and going, there's not really any foot traffic.
There's playing fields and a school nearby. A lot of people park their cars here.'
He said there was a bus stop nearby, but 'other than that not many people are walking around here'.
Footage from the scene posted online showed paramedics running to treat the victim.
Officers are now appealing for dashcam video or cycle helmet footage from anyone who was in the area.
Officers at the scene in the early hours of this morning.
Evidence tents covered the victim's mobility scooter and his body