Shakilus Townsend, 16, pleaded for his mother and said "I don't want to die" as he bled to death near his home in south London after being stabbed at least four times with two knives.
At a Metropolitan Police committee meeting yesterday, Sir Paul Stephenson, Deputy Commissioner, admitted that "clearly the message is not getting through" for youths to stop carrying weapons.
He said the battle against knife crime has become "the number one priority for the Met at this time".
Scotland Yard launched a high-profile crackdown named Operation Blunt in May and have now responded by announcing a further initiative - creating a dedicated anti-knife task force of 75 officers.
Detectives are currently investigating dozens of stabbings across the capital, including the horrific double killing of two French exchange students in a flat in south London.
However police sources admit they still do not know what is causing the soaring numbers of teen-on-teen murders.
At the scene of Shakilus' death, one unnamed 17-year-old said: "How are the police or the Government going to be able to sort this out if we as kids don't know why this sort of stuff's going on?"
A spokesman for Scotland Yard said: "The current activity to tackle knife crime reflects a deep concern about the number of teenage knife crime victims in London but will certainly not lessen the ongoing and sustained level of counter terrorism work being undertaken."
