Croydon: Teenage boy in custody after 15-year-old girl is stabbed to death with ‘foot-long knife’
The teenage boy being held after a 15-year-old girl was stabbed to death in south London was known to local community groups, according to a charity worker who works to combat youth violence.
The girl, who has not been named, was stabbed in the neck with a foot-long knife while on her way to private school during Wednesday morning rush hour in Croydon, a witness said.
A 17-year-old boy, who knew the victim, was arrested just over an hour after the attack which took place on busy Wellesley Road at around 8.30am.
Witnesses have said the girl and her alleged attacker were not in a relationship.
Anthony King, chairman of My Ends – a project helping combat youth violence in Croydon, said the boy had been known to local community groups for the past couple of years.
Mr King was with the girl’s family after the incident and said they were “heartbroken”.
He added: “She had a bright future ahead of her. She was in her GCSE year.”
Mr King described the girl as an “absolutely incredible young lady” and told of how others said she was “jovial, very comedic”.
Meanwhile, a steady flow of well-wishers left flowers and cards near the scene on Wednesday evening.
One of the cards left near to where the attack took place read: “Sorry we live in this crazy world this makes no sense.
“Fly high up there my mummy will look after you. RIP beautiful, forever young, taken too soon.
“Thoughts and prayers are with your family and friends, God bless.”
Another said: “Rest in peace little princess. So sad your life is taken away at your prime you have touched my soul.”
Emergency services were called to Wellesley Road at around 8.30am but the girl was pronounced dead at the scene 50 minutes later.
One of the cards left at the scene
‘The blood was coming like water’
A bus driver and a passer-by were seen desperately trying to save the girl before emergency services arrived, with police at the scene within two minutes.
The suspect was arrested within 75 minutes of the stabbing in nearby New Addington.
Victor Asare, 50, told how he saw a boy stab the girl in the neck with a knife which was “black, thin and about a foot long”.
“The boy wore a black blazer, the girl wore green. It looked like the girl didn’t want the boy to come closer,” said the security worker. “The blood was coming like water.”
He said the boy ran away and “everybody was crying and screaming”, adding: “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.”
A well-wisher arrives at the scene with flowers
‘Is my friend dead?’
Michael Fyffe, a passer-by, told Sky News he was on his way to work when he saw a “commotion” and was told a girl had been stabbed.
He said: “There were loads of people who had just come off the bus and then I think two of the girl’s friends came out and they were trying to rush over towards the body.
“So myself and a few of the other people tried to hold her back and just say, ‘Look let them try and help your friend’, and she was just screaming, ‘Is my friend dead? She’s my best friend’.”
A forensic officer works on a double decker bus behind the police cordon
The girl was pronounced dead at the scene at around 9.20am
A mother of two, who wanted to be named only as Bridget, said: “I was on the bus before and came off and walked back down, I saw them resuscitating her.
“The driver was holding her, and a lady. The emergency services were already here when I walked back.”
She said two other schoolgirls, believed to be the victim’s friends, were trying to get through the police cordon but were held back.
A red double decker bus on route 60, three police vehicles and about a dozen officers, as well as a forensics tent, could be seen in the taped off area outside the Whitgift Centre.
Chief Superintendent Andy Brittain said at a news conference from the scene: “This is every parent’s worst nightmare.
“I know the officers who responded this morning, along with our emergency service colleagues, are devastated at the victim’s death. This is an emotion I share, and I know people across Croydon will be feeling the same.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘Every parent’s worst nightmare’
Girl’s family ‘devastated’
James Watkins, from Mainz World, which runs prevention and intervention projects for children and young people, said he was supporting the girl’s “devastated” family, who arrived on the scene between 9am and 10am.
“They were devastated and I would say more importantly in shock, I don’t think it feels real for them,” he said.
The Old Palace of John Whitgift School, which the girl attended, has said in a statement: “We are deeply shocked by the senseless and tragic death of our much-loved and valued friend and pupil.
“It will take some time for the Old Palace community to come to terms with this terrible news, and we will offer support to our pupils as we try to do so.
“Above all, we send our love and deepest sympathies to the girl’s family at this unimaginably distressing time.”
‘Impossible to comprehend’
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he was “absolutely heartbroken” by the death.
“My thoughts and prayers are with this young girl’s family and friends, and the whole community, at this unimaginably awful time,” he said
Met 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.”
A body has been found in the search for 23-year-old runner Jenny Hall.
She was last seen leaving her home in Barracks Farm, County Durham, in her car just after 3pm on Tuesday.
Police said there are not thought to be any suspicious circumstances after a body was found in a very remote area in Teesdale on Sunday morning, five days after she went missing.
Jenny Hall went missing on Tuesday. Pic: Durham Constabulary
“We’re sorry to report that officers searching for missing woman Jenny Hall, have sadly found a body,” Durham Constabulary said in a statement.
“Officers carried out an extensive search alongside specialist partners and have been working around-the-clock to locate Jenny after she went missing on February 18.
“The body was found in a very remote area in Teesdale just after 9.30am today.
“Formal identification has yet to take place. Jenny’s family have been notified and are currently being supported by specialist officers. They have asked for privacy at this devasting time.
“It is not believed there are any suspicious circumstances and a file will be prepared for the coroner.”
A major police search was launched after Ms Hall’s disappearance.
Her car, a red Ford Focus, was found on Wednesday parked on the B6278, near remote moorland between Eggleston and Stanhope.
Mountain rescue teams, specialist drones and sniffer dogs had been combing the Hamsterley Forest and the surrounding areas, where there are a number of running trails, this week.
Digital intelligence officers also carried out extensive inquiries into Ms Hall’s mobile phone, smart watch and running apps.
A fresh amber weather warning for heavy rain has been issued by the Met Office – with much of the UK already on alert for high winds and showers.
Northern Ireland, Scotland and the UK’s west coast and the Midlands have yellow warnings for wind on Sunday – meaning the possibility of transport delays and short-term power cuts.
There are also rain warnings in place for several parts of western UK.
The new amber warning has been issued for rain in south and central Wales and is in force from 3pm on Sunday to 6am on Monday.
An amber warning means danger to life from floodwater, homes and businesses are likely to be flooded, and there is a chance some communities will be cut off.
Winds across the west of the UK will increase throughout the morning with gusts up to 70mph in exposed areas, the Met Office said.
Zoe Hutin, a meteorologist at the forecaster, said Sunday is expected to be the “worst day” before conditions improve.
“The wind warning itself for the mainland UK ends at 6pm, but we can expect to continue to see quite blustery conditions even into the evening as the mainland rain itself pushes through.”
She added: “By the time people get up on Monday, we’ll still have some of the residual rain from that front in the far south-east of the country, and quite cloudy across England as well.
“But actually elsewhere, it could be a decent start.”
The Met Office’s yellow weather warnings for much of England and Scotland came into force at 6am and are expected to run until 6pm on Sunday.
A separate yellow warning for Northern Ireland came into force at 3am and runs until 3pm.
Rain and high winds are expected across the west of the UK
Read more from Sky News:
Motorways closed after human remains found
Starmer asks US to stand by Ukraine
People who have noticed some slightly higher temperatures the last couple of days may be dismayed at the latest predictions.
“Through the week, those temperatures are trending back down,” Ms Hutin said.
“And so it will be getting cooler each day, but they will actually just be recovering to around average for the time of year. So it won’t be cold.
“It will just be returning back to where we would expect to be for this time of February.”
Sir Keir Starmer has said the United States “is right” about the UK and Europe needing to take more responsibility for defence and security.
The prime minister, speaking at the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow on Sunday, said he is clear Britain “will take a leading responsibility” in protecting the continent.
“Instability in Europe always washes up on our shores,” he said.
“And this is a generational moment. I’ve been saying for some time that we Europeans – including the United Kingdom – have to do more for our defence and security. The US is right about that.”
He added “we can’t cling to the comforts of the past” as it is “time to take responsibility for our security”.
Politics latest: Starmer’s stinging rebuke of Reform
Donald Trump sparked an emergency meeting of European leaders this week after he said European NATO members should spend more on defence, while the US should spend less.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Will Trump and Starmer have a ‘Love Actually’ moment?
Sir Keir has said he will set out a path for the UK to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence, up from the current 2.3%, but has not indicated when that will be.
It is believed he may announce the details when he visits Mr Trump in Washington DC on Thursday, bringing forward the announcement that was expected in the spring when a defence spending review is published.
The prime minister reiterated the UK will “play our role” if required in Ukraine following a peace agreement after he earlier this week said the UK would send troops to be part of a peacekeeping force.
Sir Keir will meet Donald Trump in the White House on Thursday. Pic: AP
However, his comments caused a row with Germany and Italy who said it was premature to commit to boots on the ground, although France agreed with the UK.
Sir Keir said: “As we enter a new phase in this conflict, we must now deepen our solidarity even further.”
He added: “There can be no discussion about Ukraine without Ukraine.
“And the people of Ukraine must have long-term security.”
Read more:
Starmer tells Zelenskyy this is ‘significant moment’ for European security
Sombre Starmer and Europe confront emerging new world order
This week has seen US officials meet their Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia to discuss Ukraine – which has been met with indignation by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as none of his team were invited.
No Europeans were invited either, sparking concern the US is pandering to Vladimir Putin.
Sir Keir has promised Mr Zelenskyy he will make the case for safeguarding Ukraine’s sovereignty when he meets with Mr Trump, who has called the Ukrainian president a dictator.
Mr Trump also said Sir Keir and French President Emmanuel Macron, who will visit the White House too this week, “haven’t done anything” to end the war.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports11 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway