Man murdered in night bus attack

A man has died after being stabbed during a row on a night bus.
Police said the victim, aged 21, was attacked by two men on bus number N159 as it travelled through Croydon, south London, in the early hours of Saturday.

Officers were called to Gravel Hill at the junction with Selsdon Park Road where they found a man suffering from stab wounds. He died later in hospital.

Passengers on the bus at about 0300 GMT have been urged to contact police.

Both suspects were seen running away along Selsdon Park Road after the attack.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/london/7134386.stm

Published: 2007/12/08 14:21:18 GMT

© BBC MMVII

So we have gotten to the point where we can be murdered presumably by strangers in a public place, in full view of other people.

How senseless, how terrible it must be for the victim's family.

How does anyone avoid being the victim of so called random violence?

Well it isn't easy. For starters one has to realise that this sort of violence happens. Despite all the CCTV that follows our every move in public, despite the fact that we have strict weapons laws that the police enforce enthusiastically, despite the fact that our City centres are generally well lit and quite busy 24 hours a day.

Realise that violent criminals get let out of prison every day. Realise that their time spent inside will not make them think twice about hurting you and your family. Realise that mentally ill people are wandering around our city centres having been released in the 'community' and the authorities often loose track of them once they start to forget to take their medication.

One has to accept that certain habits can seriously increase your odds of being the victim of a violent crime. Night Buses, late night take-a-ways, late night taxi ranks and the areas just outside night clubs are relatively high risk. Put yourself in these places and add into the mix too much drink and you really are likely to see or experience some unpleasantness at some point.

Of course no one should suggest that we all stay at home and no one wants to be too quick to think it might happen to them. Wake up to the fact that violence is a part of some people's daily lives. The trick is to make sure you don't experience it at all.

Don't get so drunk that your judgement is badly affected. If you don't recognise danger as it develops, you stand a good chance of being the victim of all sorts of crime.

Young men are the most likely people to be the victims of violent crime. Drunk young men especially.

Don't rely on a crowd to keep you safe. I read somewhere that in a crowd everyone expects someone else to act first, and they all look to each other to make the first move. This means that if you feel safe just because there are a lot of people around you are deluding yourself.

What you learn about self defence and how you live your life is up to you, but the first step has got to be to realise that the Police, our strict weapons laws, CCTV and a crowd of people around you, do not keep you as safe as you might have thought.