- Tragic fatal stabbing in Croydon.
- Teen victim known to community.
- Suspect apprehended, community mourns.
According to an eyewitness, blood flowed “like water” after an adolescent was attacked during the morning rush hour in Croydon.
The teenager being detained after a 15-year-old girl was fatally stabbed in south London was known to local community groups, as per an anti-youth-violence charity worker.
The victim, identified locally as Eliyanna, suffered a stab wound to the neck with a one-foot-long dagger during Wednesday morning rush hour in Croydon, according to a witness.
Over an hour after the 8 a.m. assault on Wellesley Road, a 17-year-old who knew the victim was arrested.
According to witnesses, the girl and her alleged assailant were not in a relationship.
Anthony King, chairman of My Ends, a program combating juvenile violence in Croydon, stated that the boy had been familiar to local community groups for several years.
After the incident, Mr. King was with the girl’s family, whom he described as “heartbroken.”
He added, “She had a promising future ahead. She was a GCSE student.”
Mr. King called the girl “absolutely remarkable young lady” and that others called her “very jovial and humorous.”
On Wednesday evening, a continuous stream of well-wishers left flowers and cards near the scene.
A card near the attack site read, “Sorry, this mad world makes no sense”.
Fly aloft in the sky, my mother will protect you. RIP, beautiful, eternally youthful, and removed too soon.
“Thoughts and prayers are with your family and friends, God bless.”
Someone else remarked, “Rest in peace, little princess. So tragic that your existence is cut short in its prime. You have moved my heart.
The girl was pronounced dead at Wellesley Road 50 minutes after emergency personnel arrived at 8:30 a.m.
“The blood flowed like water.”
A bus driver and a bystander were observed urgently trying to save the girl before the arrival of emergency services. Police arrived at the scene two minutes later.
Within seventy-five minutes of the assault, the suspect was apprehended in nearby New Addington.
Fifty-year-old Victor Asare described how he witnessed a boy stab a female in the neck with a “black, thin, and about a foot long” knife.
“The boy was wearing a black blazer, while the girl donned a green one. It appeared that the girl did not want the boy to approach,” said the security guard. “The blood flowed as freely as water.”
He reported that the boy fled, and that “everyone was crying and screaming,” adding, “The girl was on the ground.”
“We attempted to capture him, and many others attempted to save the female. I was so stunned that I was trembling. It belongs to someone’s daughter.”
“Has my friend perished?”
A passerby, Michael Fyffe, said he was on his way to work when he witnessed a “commotion” and was told a female had been stabbed.
“There were a large number of people who had just gotten off the bus. And then I believe two of the girl’s friends rushed over to the body,” he said.
“Therefore, I and a few others tried to hold her back and say, ‘Let them try to assist your friend.’ But all she could do was scream, ‘Is my friend dead? She is my closest companion.”
Bridget, a mother of two who wished to remain anonymous, stated, “When I got off the bus and walked back down, I saw them resuscitating her.
“The driver held her and another woman. When I returned, the emergency agencies were already present.”
She said two other schoolgirls, believed to be the victim’s friends, tried to break the police cordon but failed.
Outside the Whitgift Centre, a red double-decker bus on route 60, three police vehicles, approximately a dozen officers, and a forensics tent were visible within the cordoned-off area.
Chief Superintendent Andy Brittain stated at a press conference from the site, “This is every parent’s worst nightmare.
“I am certain that the officers who responded this morning, along with our colleagues in the emergency services, are devastated by the demise of the victim. This is an emotion I share, and I’m sure many others in Croydon feel the same.”
The family of the victim is ‘devastated.’
James Watkins of Mainz World, an organization that operates prevention and intervention programs for children and adolescents, stated that he was assisting the girl’s “devastated” family, who arrived between 9 and 10 a.m.
“They were devastated and, more importantly, in shock; I do not believe it has sunk in for them,” he stated.
The girl’s school, the Old Palace of John Whitgift School, released the following statement: “We are profoundly shocked by the senseless and tragic death of our much-loved and cherished friend and student”.
The Old Palace community will need time to process this tragedy, and we will support our pupils.
“We extend our deepest love and condolences to the girl’s family during this unimaginably difficult time.”
“Impossible to understand.”
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said he was “absolutely heartbroken” by the tragedy.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of this young girl, as well as the entire community,” he said.
Sir Mark Rowley, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, stated, “The senseless murder of a 15-year-old girl on her way to school is incomprehensible.”
“It was awe-inspiring and humbling to meet so many members of the exceptional Croydon community who have united in support of a family dealing with the gravest of sorrows.”
