Police apologise after family forced to clean up blood of murdered teenager
Police have apologised to the family of a teenager who was stabbed to death after they were forced to clean up his blood from the street.
A murder investigation has been launched after an 18-year-old man was knifed in Melbourne Street, Leicester, on Wednesday.
Police were called to the area at 11.45pm following a report of a serious assault and when they attended, they found the victim with multiple stab wounds.
The man was rushed to hospital but died during the early hours of Thursday morning.
Leicestershire Police has now apologised after a video emerged showing the victim’s family and friends cleaning up his blood from the street.
Author and youth worker Shareefa Energy posted the video on Twitter.
Assistant Chief Constable Julia Debenham said: ‘I want to apologise unreservedly to the family and friends of this young man, along with other members of the community involved in cleaning up blood from the road and pavement last night. This must have been extremely distressing.
‘It is totally unacceptable that this mistake happened and I have asked for an urgent enquiry into the circumstances.
‘The investigation into this terrible crime and bringing the offenders to justice is our top priority.
‘We have a large team of dedicated specialist officers engaged in this investigation who are working tirelessly to that end.’
Detectives are appealing to anyone in the area late on Wednesday or in the early hours of Thursday to get in touch.
Detective Chief Inspector Joe Banfield, from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, added: ‘We have a dedicated team carrying out full enquiries including speaking to witnesses, analysing CCTV and carrying out forensic enquiries.
He said: ‘Please think back – were you in the area of Melbourne Street, Maidstone Road, Garendon Street, Maynard Road or Kent Street late yesterday evening (Wednesday) or during the early hours of this morning (Thursday)?
‘Did you see or hear anything which caused you concern? Do you have any CCTV or dashcam footage from the area which could assist our investigation? If you do, please get in touch with us.
‘We understand that the incident will have caused concern in the area and our officers do remain in the area speaking to people and offering reassurance.’
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