Man dies after bus stabbing

Police are appealing for witnesses after a man was stabbed to death following a row on a double-decker bus in London on Friday night.

Richard Whelan, 28, was stabbed after attempting to stop a man who was shouting at passengers and throwing takeaway food on the top deck of a Number 43 bus in Islington.

Police said that Mr Whelan had been on the bus with his girlfriend for about 15 minutes, when the attacker, who had boarded the bus at the same time as the couple, began harassing and throwing food at her. Mr Whelan was stabbed as he tried to prevent the man harassing his girlfriend.

According to police, Mr Whelan still attempted to stop the man leaving the bus after he had been stabbed, but collapsed from his injuries on the bottom deck of the bus. He was taken to hospital, where he later died.

His attacker got off the bus at Holloway Road.

Police said that the suspect was described as a black man in his twenties, who was just under 6ft tall with afro-style hair. He was wearing a black jacket and a hooded top – he is believed to have been wearing the hood up when he boarded the bus.

Detective Chief Inspector John MacDonald from the Metropolitan Police described the attack as “totally unprovoked” and said it had been carried out by someone “who obviously carries a knife as a matter of course.” He said: “Anybody could have been the victim of this crime. The victim had done nothing wrong at all.

“It’s the casual way in which the suspect acted and the level of violence used against someone who was enjoying a night out with his girlfriend that makes it all the more important that we identify and arrest this man.”

(KMcA/SP)