‘Every parent’s nightmare’: 15-year-old girl stabbed to death near London; A teenage man was arrested

LONDON — A 15-year-old girl was stabbed to death while on her way to school in south London on Wednesday morning, and a 17-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with her death, police said.

The Metropolitan Police said officers were at the scene at about 8:30 a.m., about two minutes after receiving reports that the girl had been stabbed in the busy Croydon residential and commercial area in south London.

Chief Superintendent Andy Brittain said police cars, paramedics and an air ambulance were dispatched, but the girl was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after.

About 75 minutes later, Brittain said a 17-year-old suspect who may have known the victim was arrested near Croydon.

Brittain said the suspect, whose identity has not been revealed, is in custody, adding that police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the murder based on the information available to them.

“This is any parent’s worst nightmare, and I know that the officers who responded this morning, along with our emergency service colleagues, are deeply saddened by the victim’s death,” he said near the scene of the stabbing.

“These are sentiments I share and I know people across Croydon will feel the same,” he said.

A white forensic tent was set up inside a police cordon at the scene.

Stabbing incidents involving young men are not common in London, but it is relatively rare for such incidents to involve girls.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was “heartbroken” by the death.

“The senseless killing of a 15-year-old girl on her way to school is impossible to comprehend,” said Mark Rowley, a senior Metro police officer, who spent about an hour at the scene.

The girl, whose name has not been revealed, was a student at the old mansion of John Whitgift School, a private girls’ school in Croydon.

The school expressed its shock at the “tragic and senseless death of our beloved and valued friend and student.”