Two males arrested for homicide of one-legged scooter rider are launched
Two men arrested on suspicion of murder after a man who used a mobility scooter was stabbed to death with a ‘machete’ have been released with no further action.
Jade Anthony Barnett, 38, ‘tried to get away’ but got stuck in his wheelchair, a witness claimed, before he was killed at about 3.40pm on Wednesday on Rushmore Road in Clapton, Hackney.
Two men, aged 21 and 28, who were arrested on suspicion of murder have now been released with no further action, the Metropolitan Police said.
Mr Barnett was on his mobility scooter at the time of the incident, and the scooter was left at the scene, the Met said.
Detectives are continuing to investigate the circumstances to establish why Mr Barnett was stabbed and are still appealing for witnesses and information.
Jade Anthony Barnett, 38, was killed on Rushmore Road in Clapton, Hackney, on Wednesday
A witness claimed he ‘tried to get away’ but got stuck in his wheelchair with the attack happening at the top of a set of stairs after a gathering ‘kicked off’
A map showing the location where Mr Barnett was killed in east London on Wednesday
THURSDAY: Mourners were laying floral tributes near to where Mr Barnett was killed
One of his friends claimed the attack happened at the top of a set of stairs after a gathering ‘kicked off’.
Mr Barnett lost his leg in a motorcycle accident in 2007, according to his pals.
Met Police officers were called to the east London street at 3.38pm following reports of a fight, with suggestions that a machete was used in the gruesome attack.
Mr Barnett was treated by emergency services, including ambulance service and air ambulance staff, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detective Chief Inspector Phil Clarke from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, who is leading the investigation, said: ‘I want to reassure the local community that my team of experienced detectives is making good progress as we piece together the events that led to Jade’s murder and work to identify whoever is responsible.
‘But we still need your help. Jade was stabbed in the street during the middle of the day. I know there are people who have yet to come forward to police for whatever reason who will have seen what happened or taken pictures or video as events unfolded.
WEDNESDAY: Video posted on social media – claiming the man was stabbed with a ‘machete’ – shows an air ambulance flying over the residential area
WEDNESDAY: A crime scene was in place on Rushmore Road (pictured)
THURSDAY: One of the messages of a floral tribute from Jade’s uncle and aunt said they are ‘all so shocked. numb. We cannot believe you are gone’
THURSDAY: A forensic police officer and a police tent on Overbury Street near the scene in Rushmore Road, Clapton
THURSDAY: A police officer stands by a cordon where a floral tribute for Mr Barnett had been left
THURSDAY: Forensic officers were collecting evidence at the scene following the fatal stabbing
THURSDAY: A new police cordon was put in place outside the shopping centre off Rushmore Road
THURSDAY: What appears to be a green medical bag with a blue rubber glove strewn on the floor
‘We have set up a dedicated portal so you can upload images and footage – please do this or get in contact so we can work together to provide answers to Jade’s loved ones about what happened to him and hold whoever is responsible to account.’
Mr Barnett’s sister Simone, 45, from Hackney, previously told the PA news agency that her brother was ‘jolly, cheerful, caring’ and ‘he never took nothing too seriously, he laughed everything off’.
He used to live in Clapton with his mother but his friends said he had moved to the Stratford area.
Ms Barnett said: ‘He comes around here (Clapton) all the time, everyone knew my brother – young, old, mothers, fathers, everybody knew my brother.
‘Everybody is family, he’s just that character.’
Flowers and candles have been left near the scene of the stabbing.
A woman, who did not want to be named, told The Telegraph Mr Barnett was her friend and told how he desperately tried to escape.
THURSDAY: A forensics tent can still be seen in the middle of the road at the crime scene
THURSDAY: A forensics officer’s white coveralls left on the pavement near to where the suspected murder took place
‘He tried to get away’ but could not ‘because he had his wheelchair’, she said.
Ms Barnett, 45, told how her brother had lived in Clapton with his mother, but his friends said he had moved to the Stratford area and also lost his leg in a motorcycle accident in 2007.
Ms Barnett added: ‘He comes around here (Clapton) all the time, everyone knew my brother – young, old, mothers, fathers, everybody knew my brother.
‘Everybody is family, he’s just that character.’
Mr Barnett had for the last year been working out at the nearby Pedro Amateur Boxing Club – just a 30-second walk from the suspected murder scene – in a bid to get fit after suffering a stroke.
Roosevelt Morrison, 44, had been coaching him and said he was ‘crushed’ to hear he had died.
And he revealed Mr Barnett was planning to go to Senegal where he was working with a charity to donate his old prosthetic legs.
‘All of a sudden I heard he got stabbed and I’m just crushed. Everybody knows him,’ he said.
THURSDAY: Forensics officers stand outside a blue police tent as they combed the scene for evidence
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Met Police officers were called to the east London street at 3.38pm following reports of a fight
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: A forensic officer shines a torch on the discarded scooter near the scene in Rushmore Road, Clapton, east London
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: A discarded mobility scooter on the scene where Jade Anthony Barnett was stabbed to death in a suspected London street fight
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: A local butcher described the victim as a ‘good guy’ who has lived in the area for about nine years
On Wednesday evening, a black and grey mobility scooter was seen behind a police cordon – close to a forensics tent at the scene.
Video posted on social media – claiming the man was stabbed with a ‘machete’ – shows the road blocked off with police tape and an air ambulance flying over the residential area.
A local butcher described Mr Barnett as a ‘good guy’ who has lived in the area for about nine years.
A woman who was among those gathering at a police cordon after the death and who did not want to be named, said: ‘He was always funny, making jokes, friendly with everybody, always had a smile on his face, and always pleasant.
‘There’s not a bad thing I could say about him. I know him from long time, he’s a nice guy, very nice guy, always see him, he’s always pleasant.
‘You never expect (an incident like this) at all, to be honest, but to him, least of all – he’s just nice, always, always a pleasure to see him, he’s upbeat.’
A man who knew Mr Barnett, but also did not want to be identified, said he was ‘a young guy, good spirit, no enemies, no guns, no crime, no gangs’.
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or message @MetCC on social media site X, quoting CAD 4793/AUG.
