Harry Potter Actor Death: Man Charged With Six Knifings

A man was today remanded in custody charged with the murder of the Harry Potter actor Robert Knox and five other counts of wounding with intent.

Karl Bishop, an unemployed 21-year-old, did not apply for bail when he appeared at Bexley magistrates court. He will appear at the Old Bailey on September 2.

Knox, who had recently finished filming his part in the forthcoming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, died outside a bar in Sidcup in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Bishop is charged with his killing outside the Metro Bar and the knifing of five others.

Knox, 18, became the 14th teenager to be murdered in London this year, and the killing was one of a spate of violent attacks involving young people in and around the capital over the weekend.

Police revealed today that 130 weapons had been seized since an operation to crack down on knife and gun crime was launched almost two weeks ago.

There have also been more than 200 arrests since officers began using metal detector arches and hand held scanners to ascertain who was carrying knives.

Rose Fitzpatrick, the deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police, said neighborhood weapons sweeps were uncovering knives and guns.

"Even a small knife - even the sort of thing you would pick out of the kitchen drawer - can kill someone," she added.

A 19-year-old man was in a critical condition in hospital yesterday after British Transport police found him at East Ham underground station on Sunday night. He had been stabbed.

A second man, also 19, was arrested after he was found with head injuries in a road nearby.

Detectives believe there was an altercation between the two men, believed to be Sri Lankan or Tamil, near the east London station, which was closed as police teams searched the area yesterday.

Two 17-year-old youths were critically ill in hospital after being shot in north London.

One was found in Archway after being shot in the stomach early on Friday. The second was found two miles away, in Camden, on Saturday night, and had been shot in the head.

Police from Scotland Yard's Operation Trident, which deals with gun crime in the black community, were continuing to investigate whether the second shooting had been revenge for the first.

Essex police said yesterday that four men and a woman were being questioned after an 18-year-old man was left with a punctured lung after being stabbed in Heybridge, near Maldon, early on Saturday morning.

A police spokeswoman said the man was in a stable condition in hospital in Chelmsford.

A youth worker yesterday called for zero tolerance of knife crime after the recent stabbings and shootings.

Uanu Seshmi, of the From Boyhood to Manhood Foundation, a charity that works with young people to stop them committing crime, said: "We have to take drastic steps, because otherwise we are just giving the young people free rein. There must be zero tolerance on this.

"Young people must understand that no one who carries out this kind of gang behavior will be tolerated. If that means we need to have curfews, let it be. If that means we need to have more stop and search, let it be."

On Sunday, Knox's family called for an end to knife crime. Colin Knox, the victim's father, said: "With knives, there are no winners, only losers.

"If you are a person who carries a knife, think about the consequences before you carry the knife."