A teenager was seriously ill at Mayday Hospital on Tuesday after being stabbed in the back under the paralysed gaze of onlookers gathered outside Croydon's Home Office building.
At about 8pm on October 22, the 18-year-old was set upon by three youths as he spoke on his mobile phone at a bus stop outside the Home Office on Wellesley Road.
A police spokesman said: "There were other people around but no-one came to his aid. Bleeding heavily, the victim managed to flag down a taxi, which took him to Mayday.
"It may be they did not realise he was stabbed or perhaps they thought it was a fight and feared for their safety. We are very interested in speaking to witnesses."
The man was stabbed three times in the back and his mobile phone was stolen.
The man who used the knife is thought to be noticeably smaller than the other three, all described as about 20 and of eastern European appearance.
Contact DC Linnell, at South Norwood Robbery Squad on 020 8768 1212.
October 25, 2001 09:30
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