Three men arrested after 32-year-old woman stabbed to death at Notting Hill Carnival

Three men were arrested on Tuesday after a 32-year-old woman was stabbed to death in front of her young child at the Notting Hill Carnival.

The Metropolitan Police said the woman remained in a critical condition in hospital after being stabbed on Golborne Road shortly before 6pm on Sunday.

Officers believe the woman was “involved in the most horrific violence” during a fight between two groups of men. It is not clear whether they know the woman, Scotland Yard said.

A 20-year-old was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and violent disorder, while a 22-year-old and a 24-year-old were arrested on suspicion of violent disorder.

Officers deployed in Golborne Road, W10, were alerted to a woman who had been stabbed shortly before 6pm on Sunday.

The three men were arrested at different addresses in Hammersmith and Fulham on Tuesday morning and are currently still in custody.

Commander Charmain Brenyah, police spokeswoman for Notting Hill Carnival, said the woman “came to the carnival with her young child to have fun and became involved in horrific violence”.

She said: “Our thoughts are first and foremost with the woman who is fighting for her life in hospital and with her relatives. She came to the carnival with her small child to have fun and was caught up in the most horrific violence.

“These arrests are an important step in the investigation. They are the result of the determined efforts of detectives who worked around the clock to identify, locate and arrest these suspects.”

“We should not underestimate how much more difficult these crucial early stages of an investigation are when they take place in the context of a busy, crowded event such as Carnival,” added Commander Brenyah.

There were eight reported stabbings at this year's carnival, two fewer than last year's (10). On Monday, 230 arrests were made, including 49 for possession of weapons, 37 for assault on a rescue worker and eight for sexual offences, Sky News reported.

7,000 police officers were deployed for the holiday event, which attracted around a million people to West London.