Knife Attacks Propel London To Outpace NYC’s Murder Rate For First Time In Modern History

London, lauded by the Left for its strict gun laws and embrace of multiculturalism, is not the haven it’s cracked up to be. In February, the U.K. capital outpaced New York City’s murder rate for the first time in modern history as London experienced a surge in knife attacks.

Both cities have roughly the same population; in the month of February, 15 people were murdered in London, whereas NYC recorded 14 homicide deaths, reports The London Times.

London is set to outpace NYC’s murder rate for March as well. “By late last night there had been 22 killings in the capital, according to the Metropolitan police, against 21 in the US city,” notes the Times. Eight of those murdered in March happened in a span of just seven days.

Since 2014, excluding victims of terrorism, the number of London murders has risen by a stunning 38%.

London has also seen an “epidemic” of acid attacks in recent years.

The increase in fatal crime is a recent trend in London. According to the Times, “FBI data and studies by the late Eric Monkkonen, a researcher at the University of California, show that since 1800 London has had a murder rate per person of between half and a 20th of New York’s.”

The Fight For Peace charity head in the capital, Jacob Whittingham, is perplexed by the “random” violence. “What’s scary about London is the randomness of the crime,” he said. “With young people in London, you have no idea if and when you may be the victim of a violent crime — that’s why they feel the need to carry weapons.”

Metropolitan police commissioner Cressida Dick blames social media. “Dick said websites and mobile phone applications such as YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram were partially to blame for the bloodshed,” reports The Evening Standard. “Fatal stabbings in England and Wales are now at their highest levels since 2011, rising by 12 per cent in the year ending December 2017.”