T
he family of a schoolgirl and aspiring lawyer stabbed to death as she got off a bus in Croydon have said they are “heartbroken” that her life had been taken.
“Much-loved” Eliyanna Andam died after being knifed in the neck with a foot-long blade during the Wednesday morning rush hour in Croydon.
Her aunt Marian told the Standard on Thursday: “She went to a private school paid by sister and had a great future ahead of her. She wanted to be a lawyer. She also loved gymnastics and doing her hair.
“We are a big family and supporting each other. We are devastated.
“We can’t comprehend the heartbreak of the last 24 hours.
“She went to school and didn’t come home. It hasn’t sunk in. My sister is not feeling good this is a tragedy.”
The aunt was speaking at her home just half a mile from the crime scene.
Detectives have been given extra time to question a 17-year-old boy over the murder of a Eliyanna, who was stabbed on her way to school.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman on Thursday said magistrates granted officers a further 24 hours to hold the teenage suspect until Friday morning.
A post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
A steady flow of well-wishers has left flowers and cards in tribute to the victim
/ Jeremy Selwyn
Eliyanna was a pupil of Old Palace of John Whitgift School in Croydon.
The 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.
A steady flow of well-wishers left flowers and cards near the scene on Wednesday evening, and Eliyanna’s school paid tribute to its “valued friend and pupil”.
Anthony King, chairman of My Ends – a project helping combat youth violence in Croydon, 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”.
He also said the arrested boy had been known to local community groups for the past couple of years.
Witnesses told the PA news agency the girl and her alleged attacker were not in a relationship.
15 Year Old Girl Fatally Stabbed Near Whitgift Centre In Croydon, UK
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.”
The Metropolitan Police attended with paramedics from London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance, but she died at the scene shortly after 9.20am.
An eyewitness described how the victim and a boy had been on a bus together. She said an argument between the pair, both in school uniform, led to the fatal stabbing.
She told the Standard: “They both got off the bus, she said something, then he pulled out a long knife with a jagged edge. It was like a machete or something.
Forensic investigators at the scene in Croydon, after a 15-year-old girl was stabbed to death
/ PA
“She was stabbed in the throat. I had to look away.”
Another local added: “There were people with kids on the bus. Everyone was running in a panic.”
A third said: “The knife was like a sword. The boy tried to give the girl flowers, but she didn’t want to know. Then he stabbed her.
“A police officer tried to stem the wound but there was a lot of blood.”
Other witnesses claimed the girl was stabbed when she tried to intervene in an argument between a friend and her friend’s ex-boyfriend.
Forensics officers were seen examining a note said to reading “special girl…..princess” at the scene, along with blood-stained red roses.
In a statement, an Old Palace of John Whitgift spokesman said: “We are deeply shocked by the senseless and tragic death of our much-loved and valued friend and pupil.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley (left) arrives at the scene near the Whitgift shopping centre
/ PA
“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 deepest love and sympathies to the girl’s family at this incredibly distressing time.”
James Watkins, from the charity Mainzworld who mentor young Londoners, said: “The victim’s family are in deep shock.
“I’ve talked to them they were contacted by some of the girls who are friends of the victim to say she had been stabbed.
“Her family came down to the scene a bit after it was too late (to say goodbye).”
On Wednesday afternoon, the Met’s most senior officer, Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, visited the scene after the tragic killing.
He said: “The senseless murder of a 15-year-old girl on her way to school is impossible to comprehend.”
A witness, who didn’t want to be named, told The Sun: “Someone attacked a young girl.
“The victim was a schoolgirl, she must only have been about secondary school age. She was wearing a green school uniform.
“When it happened everybody ran off the bus.”
Teenage girl stabbed to death during rush hour in south London
A witness claimed on X, formally Twitter: “Little girl has been stabbed in the neck on the school run bus.”
Beldine Kutima, a receptionist at a nearby four-star hotel, told reporters: “One of our duty managers went to get the bus but she came back in total shock and was heavily crying.
“She ran back screaming and grabbed towels from the back room and ran back out there.”
Speaking at the scene on Wednesday afternoon, Metropolitan Police Chief Superintendent Andy Brittain described the killing as “every parent’s worst nightmare”.
He said: “The victim’s family has been informed and our thoughts are with them at what must be an incredibly difficult time.
“We carried out urgent inquiries to find the suspect and within 75 minutes of the incident happening a 17-year-old boy was arrested in New Addington.
“He remains in custody and will be questioned by detectives.
Chief Superintendent Andy Brittain speaking at the scene near the Whitgift shopping centre
/ PA
“We remain in the early stages of our investigation, however based on what we know so far we believe that we are not looking for anyone else in connection with this offence.
“From our initial inquiries, we believe the suspect may have known the victim. However, we’re not in a position to release the victim’s identity at this time.”
Home Office minister Chris Philp posted on X: “Devastating news that a 15-year-old girl was fatally stabbed in Croydon town centre and died soon afterwards on the scene, despite the best efforts of the emergency services.
“Our hearts go out to her family who must be in deep shock at their terrible loss.
“Nothing can be worse for a parent than losing a child.
“An arrest was made shortly afterwards of a teenager believed to be known to the victim.
“We must redouble our efforts to take all knives off the streets of London, using every means available.”
Her killing brings the total number of teen homicides committed in London so far this year to 15, exceeding the figure for the whole of last year.
Previously, Max Moy Wheatley, 19, collapsed after being knifed in the heart in Jubilee Country Park, Petts Wood in Bromley around 2.30pm last week Wednesday.
There were 14 teenage homicides in the capital last year, and most were the result of stabbings. The worst year for teen homicides in London was 2021, when 30 teenagers lost their lives.
Forensic officers at the scene of the murder
/ PA
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “I am absolutely heartbroken by the death of a 15-year-old girl in Croydon this morning.
“My thoughts and prayers are with this young girl’s family and friends, and the whole community, at this unimaginably awful time.
“An arrest has been made in connection with this incident and I am in close contact with the Met Commissioner.
“I urge anyone with any further information to call the police.”
Forensic investigators at the scene near the Whitgift shopping centre
/ PA
A white tent has been erected within a police cordon where the 15-year-old girl was stabbed to death.
A number 60 bus is also behind police tape, along with three police vehicles and about a dozen officers outside the Whitgift Centre on Wellesley Road. A bunch of flowers could be seen next to the forensic tent.
Forensics officers scoured for clues as police with sniffer dogs patrolled the scene.
A woman has described seeing a bus driver and another woman trying to save the 15-year-old girl.
The mother-of-two, who only wanted to be known as Bridget, said she saw the two people trying to resuscitate the her on the pavement.
She 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.”
A man described how he and others chased the boy after the attack.
A mn leaves flowers at the scene of the attack
/ PA
He said: “A lot of people came, everyone came off the bus. [The boy] 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.”
An estate agent who works near the scene said the town has “gone to the dogs”.
Leigh Thomas, 41, said: “I came out of my office and there were two ambulances right across the road and about 12 police cars.”
He added: “Croydon has gone to the dogs recently. The other side of the shopping centre is a war zone.
“There’s drug dealing, fights, there was another stabbing recently.
“I grew up around here, it’s not what it used to be.”
Jason Perry, Mayor of Croydon, said: “I am devastated to hear that the teenage girl who was stabbed in the town centre this morning has tragically died.
“The council are in touch with the police and will fully support their investigations.
“Our whole community’s thoughts will be with the victim’s family and friends.”
A card left at the scene 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.”
Anyone who witnessed what happened who has not yet spoken to police is asked to call 101 quoting CAD 1601/27Sep.
You can also share information, photos and videos directly with police here.
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