A teenage boy has been taken to hospital with head injuries after police found a zombie knife and what appears to be a gun in Harlesden.
Officers were called to Tavistock Road just before 9.40pm on Wednesday, October 28, after reports that a knife had been discovered. When they arrived to recover the weapon, they found it was a zombie knife.
While dealing with that report, officers located a teenage boy who was suffering injuries to his head. He was taken to hospital, where his condition was confirmed as neither life-changing nor life-threatening.
Further searches of the area recovered what appears to be a gun. Enquiries are ongoing to establish whether it is a firearm, as suspected.
No arrests have been made, and enquiries are continuing.
Police have not said how the boy came by his injuries, or whether they are connected to the weapons found. The boy has not been named.
What happens next
The key unanswered question for investigators is the status of the second weapon. Until examinations are complete, police can only describe it as what appears to be a gun, and work is under way to ascertain whether it is a firearm. That distinction matters: it will shape what offences, if any, are considered once the enquiries progress.
Zombie knives are prohibited weapons, and simply possessing one in a public place is a serious offence. Their recovery, alongside a suspected firearm, is likely to keep the investigation in Harlesden active for some time, even though no one has been arrested so far.
Anyone who was in the Tavistock Road area on Wednesday evening, or who has information about either weapon or about how the boy was injured, is asked to contact police on 101, quoting reference 7368/28OCT.
Police have appealed for information as enquiries continue, and the investigation remains at an early stage. Any further updates, including on the boy’s condition or on the examination of the suspected gun, will be reported when they are confirmed.
Elsewhere in London, police have dealt with a series of knife incidents in recent days, including a double stabbing in Plaistow in which two men were taken to hospital, and a stabbing in Leyton that left a 15-year-old boy in hospital. A man has also been charged over a fatal crash in Balham dating back to 2023.
