London police said they have arrested a teenager after stabbing a 15-year-old girl to death on her way to school, raising fresh concerns about the level of knife crime in the UK.
Emergency services, including the air ambulance, were called to the scene in Croydon, south London, at around 8.30 am after reports of the stabbing, reports RTE.
Paramedics fought to save the girl, but she was pronounced dead at the scene 50 minutes later, police said, adding that a 17-year-old boy was later arrested.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was “heartbroken” by the deadly incident and vowed to “continue working day and night to end the scourge of knife crime in our city”, reports RTE.
In the year to March, 99 people under the age of 25 died from knife or sharp object injuries in England and Wales, according to official figures. 13 of them were under 16 years of age.
According to figures from the UK Office for National Statistics, there were 50,000 stabbing deaths in the year to March, a 5% increase on the previous year and a 75% increase on a decade ago, reports RTE.
Police announced that the detained suspect is being questioned by investigators.
“Our immediate thoughts are with this young girl’s family who are facing the most tragic of news. Our officers are with the girl’s family to support them,” said Chief Superintendent Andy Brittain of the Metropolitan Police, reports RTE.
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