Flowers and cards have been left near the scene in Croydon, south London where a 15-year-old school girl was fatally stabbed yesterday on her way to school.
A witness said the victim, who has not been named, was stabbed in the neck with a foot-long (30cm) knife according to the report of BBC.
The Metropolitan Police stated that a 17-year-old boy was arrested in New Addington within around 75 minutes of the incident happening and that they believe the suspect knew the victim.
Speaking to BBC, a security worker Victor Asare said that they tried to catch the suspect.
Mr Asare said: “The blood was coming like water. A lot of people came, everyone came off the bus.
“[The suspect] ran away. Everybody was crying and screaming. The girl was on the floor.
“We tried to catch him and a lot of people tried to save the girl. I was so shocked, I was shaken. It’s somebody’s daughter.
“I finished work but couldn’t sleep, so came back, I wanted to see if the girl was OK.”
Witness Mr Asare said the girl, who was wearing a green school blazer, looked as if she “didn’t want the boy to come closer” before she was stabbed in the neck with a knife that was “black, thin and about a foot long”.
Croydon Central MP Sarah Jones thanked emergency services “for trying so hard to save her life”
She said: “I’m heartbroken that a child in my town has been killed on her way to school and I cannot imagine the grief that her family will be going through at this time.
“I want to thank the police and the ambulance service for trying so hard to save her life.
“They run into danger and I know they will also be suffering today.”
According to the Met’s data, between August 2022 and 2023, Croydon had more stabbings than any other borough in London, with 211 “knife crime with injury” offences recorded.
The Met chief visited the scene
Visiting the scene, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “The senseless murder of a 15-year-old girl on her way to school is impossible to comprehend.
“It was moving and humbling to meet many members of the exceptional Croydon community who have come together in support of a family now dealing with the most unimaginable grief.
“The commitment of so many from the local community is inspiring. A powerful partnership between charitable groups, faith and community leaders, the local authority, the wider public and our officers has delivered so much work across the borough. They have collectively saved many lives from knife crime. Many are shocked and hurting. They care deeply and it’s this passion which has made Croydon a safer place and will continue to in the future.
“I spoke to officers who, with members of the public, were among the first on scene with colleagues trying to save this young girl’s life and have since supported her family and friends. Through diligent work by them all an early arrest was made and our major crime team now continue to investigate the events leading up to this awful attack.”
