Wednesday 17 August 2022 11:55 PM DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Pensioner's killing shames the police trends now
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At four in the afternoon in an unremarkable suburb of west London, an 87-year-old man was stabbed to death on his mobility scooter. It was the sixth murder in the capital in four days – the 59th this year – and arguably the most shocking of them all.
Thomas O'Halloran was by all accounts a kindly man who busked with his accordion, most recently raising money for Ukraine. That anyone could see him as a legitimate target for such appalling violence is inconceivable. That the perpetrator thought they could get away with it is grotesque.
It shows how far the police have conceded control of the streets, emboldened thugs and let down the communities they are meant to protect.
In London, violence is reaching epidemic proportions – accentuated by a woeful lack of leadership. Predictably, London Mayor Sadiq Khan was wringing his hands yesterday over Mr O'Halloran's death. But his ineptitude is a huge part of the problem.
Thomas O'Halloran Thomas O'Halloran busked with his accordion, most recently raising money for Ukraine
He's happy to swan off to California on a junket to discuss drug legalisation, but when it comes to tackling the bloodbath happening on his watch, he has nothing useful to say. Equally, Scotland Yard too has pussy-footed around the growing problem of gang violence and knife crime.
It has focused far too much on such things as internet hate crime and bogus historic sex offences and nowhere near enough on the crimes that really matter to
