Two more teenagers killed in weekend knife violence

A 14-year-old boy bled to death yesterday after suffering a single stab wound to the stomach when he and his sister were attacked by a group of youths outside their home in east London.

Shaquille Maitland-Smith was found shortly before midnight on Saturday, metres from his home in St Thomas's Place, in Hackney. His 16-year-old sister, known as Titi, also suffered knife wounds and remains in hospital in a stable condition.

Their aunt, Jackie Green, said Shaquille had been sitting outside near his house when a group of youths walked past and attacked him. "I don't think the others realised Shaquille had been stabbed at first, they thought he had just been punched," she said.

Earlier, a 16-year-old boy was stabbed to death at a party in Liverpool. He was later named as Luke Howard.

Both fatalities will increase political pressure on the government and police to tackle the rash of knife crimes among young people.

The Metropolitan police confirmed that Shaquille was the 20th teenager stabbed to death - and the 25th teenage homicide - in London so far this year. Last year 26 teenagers were killed in the capital.

A neighbour in Hackney, who did not wish to be identified, told the Guardian he had been watching television late on Saturday evening and often heard scuffles.

"It's quite normal to hear teenagers getting excited," he said. "There's a row of Georgian houses surrounded by estates. It's where different gangs meet up. [On Saturday] there were a few strong words followed by a commotion. I looked outside. The boy was down but conscious. He was stabbed near my house, but dragged himself along to collapse outside his home. His family, his mother and sisters, were with him. The ambulance was there within 10 minutes."

Shaquille was taken to hospital, but died early yesterday morning.

In Liverpool, a 15-year-old boy was charged with murdering Luke Howard and is due to appear at Liverpool youth court today. Police were called to a house in Ashcombe Road, Old Swan, just after 7am on Saturday, Merseyside police said. There had been an argument at a party. Police appealed for people at the party to contact officers investigating Howard's murder.

In London, a 16-year-old boy was last night charged with the murder of Charles Junior Hendricks, 18, who was stabbed in Walthamstow, north-east London last month. Two other boys, 16 and 17, remained in police custody. A 19-year-old man and a 16-year-old have been bailed until late September.