Six stabbed after Arsenal victory parade in north London

Six people were stabbed after Arsenal’s Premier League victory parade in north London on Sunday, police have said.

The Metropolitan police said the stabbings took place in the evening after most of the crowds had dispersed. Twenty-four people were arrested.

One man in his 20s was taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition but has since been stabilised. The force said most of the 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 of the arrests were on suspicion of assaulting police officers.

The Met said one officer suffered a slash wound to the hand and another was 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.

Police also arrested three people in relation to alleged drugs offences, including one person who was 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 arrests came after emergency services dealt with a number of incidents linked to the celebrations throughout the day. On Sunday, the London fire brigade said it had rescued about 75 people who became stuck at height after climbing on to rooftops and other structures to watch the parade.

The brigade also attended a small fire at a hotel that was believed to have been caused by a flare.

Police said extra stop-and-search powers were authorised overnight after patterns of violence in north London. Commander Stuart Bell, who led the Met’s public order operation for the parade, 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. “Officers were swiftly on scene to each stabbing and investigations are ongoing.”

Ch Supt Jason Stewart, who leads policing in Islington, said officers would continue patrols in the area while investigations continued. “Our officers are back out on patrol today to provide visible reassurance and our investigation teams are working hard to identify offenders and bring them to justice,” he said.

The Met said inquiries into all six stabbings were continuing.