28 September 2023 , 10:11
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A boy was knifed just hours after a teenage girl was stabbed to death less than seven miles away after getting off a bus.
Eliyanna Andam, 15, was killed as she tried to make her way to school on Wednesday morning. Communities today continue to mourn the keen gymnast, who Old Palace of John Whitgift School in Croydon, south London, said had a "bright future" ahead of her.
But it has emerged approximately seven hours after the attack, a boy was stabbed in a separate incident in the Tooting area of the capital, just seven miles north. The 13-year-old boy suffered non-life threatening or life-changing injuries, Metropolitan Police said. There is no suggestion the two cases are linked.
The force said the latest attack happened at around 3.30pm on Smallwood Road, a residential street west of Tooting, and is being investigated by local investigation teams.
Flowers are laid at the scene in Croydon following the stabbing (PA)A 17-year-old boy was arrested in connection with the Croydon stabbing, My London reports, and was still in custody on Thursday morning being questioned on suspicion of her murder. Speaking today from an address just half a mile from the scene, Eliyanna's aunt told the Mirror: "This is a tragedy. It hasn’t sunk in yet for my sister She wanted to be a lawyer. She went to a private school and had a great future ahead of her. My sister paid for her education.
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"She was a lovely girl, loved gymnastics. She loved doing her hair. We are all devastated by this. We are a big family and we are all here for my sister. We are planning on putting out a further statement later. We can’t comprehend the heartbreak of the last 24 hours. She went to school and didn’t come home."
A bus driver and a woman rushed over to try and help Eliyanna said a witness, with police also trying to provide first aid, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. The victim's family hurried to the scene outside the Whitgift Shopping Centre, but arrived too late to say goodbye. They are in shock and disbelief, said a crime prevention charity founder.
Anthony King, chairman of My Ends - a project helping combat youth violence in Croydon, was with Eliyanna's family after the incident and said they were "heartbroken". "She had a bright future ahead of her," Mr King said. "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".