Notting Hill Carnival: Woman stabbed with knife involved in fight

Three men have been arrested in connection with the knife attack on a 32-year-old mother. According to the Metropolitan Police, she was involved in a fight between two groups of men at the Notting Hill Carnival.

The Met said the woman, who was with her child at the west London event at the time of the attack, remains in a critical condition and is “fighting for her life” in hospital.

One of the 20-year-old men was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and violent disorder.

The others, aged 24 and 22, were arrested on suspicion of violent disorder. All three remain in custody.

The police said the woman had gone to the fair with her small child “to have fun.” However, “initial investigations suggest that the woman became involved in an argument between two groups of men.”

It was not clear to investigators whether she knew the men.

Cdr Charmain Brenyah, the Met's spokesman for Notting Hill Carnival, said: “These arrests represent an important step in the investigation and are the result of the determined efforts of detectives who have worked around the clock to identify, locate and arrest these suspects.”

“I would also like to acknowledge the incredible work of the officers, including the police doctors, who arrived on the scene so quickly. They provided emergency medical care and secured the scene to preserve important evidence.”

In other incidents during the two-day event, seven people were injured with stab or cut wounds.

A 41-year-old man is in a critical condition in hospital after sustaining a head injury in an attack in Queensway on Monday evening, the Met said.

A total of 61 police officers were injured at the event. Some were headbutted and spat on, two were pelted with glass bottles.

Over the course of Sunday and Monday, around 349 people were arrested, mostly for drug offenses and possession of an offensive weapon, police said.

Three firearms were seized and there were also 49 arrests for other weapons.

One of these arrests was made in connection with an attempted murder in Hackney.

In comparison, the 2023 event saw eight stabbings and 275 arrests.

It was expected that about a million people would attend the carnival.

The organizer of the Notting Hill Carnival said he was working “closely with the Metropolitan Police and many committed partners.” There was “no excuse” for violence and “this is not a carnival.”