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London: A murder inquiry was launched after a boy died of a single stab wound, Manchester police said on Saturday.
Police were called to a street in the Harpurhey area of the city at about 2.15am following reports that a teenager had been injured.
The boy, who has not been named but is believed to be 16 years old, had been fatally stabbed once. He died on the way to hospital.
Detective Superintendent Shaun Donnellan said: "We are at the early stages of this inquiry, but we believe there may have been witnesses who could assist our investigation into finding out what happened."
The Government has vowed to come down hard on those involved in knife crime, following the growing number of murders this year. Last month the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, announced a "very tough campaign to get knives off our streets".
He said: "If you have a knife, you will be caught. If you have a knife, you will be prosecuted. If you have a knife, you could end up going to prison or doing a very tough community payback sentence."
He said he wanted people who use knives to face prison, and those who carry blades to be given "really tough" community payback orders which make them feel "humiliated".
The latest official Home Office figures reveal that one person is the victim of knife crime every four minutes. Nearly 130,000 violent offences involved a knife last year - equivalent to almost 15 an hour - a British Crime Survey showed. It counts for six per cent of the estimated 2.16 million violent crimes last year.
- The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2008 & Reuters
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