Man arrested of suspicion of murder after shopping centre stabbing

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 22-year-old man was stabbed to death at an east London shopping centre.

Scotland Yard said the 21-year-old was arrested on Saturday and remains in custody after the incident on March 21.

London Ambulance Service attended the Stratford Centre following reports of a disturbance at around 9.30pm.

But the man was pronounced dead one hour later.

While formal identification is yet to take place, detectives believe the victim is Beniamin Pieknyi, from Milton Keynes. His next of kin have been informed.

A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as a stab wound.

Eight people have died in stabbings or shootings in the capital this month.

Detective Chief Inspector Will Reynolds said: "It is believed that the victim and a friend were involved in an altercation with a large group of young males before he was stabbed in the shopping centre.

"I would like to make a direct appeal to all those in that large group to come forward and speak to police. It could be that you witnessed the incident and we need to eliminate you from the investigation as soon as possible.

"The shopping centre was busy at the time of the incident and a number of witnesses have already come forward to help police with investigations. We are grateful for this assistance and for those who provided emergency first aid to the victim.

"Anyone with any information about the murder, please contact our incident room on 020 8721 4005."

Anyone with information should contact police on 101 quoting CAD 7391/20 March or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.