A second teenager has been arrested on suspicion of murdering 15-year-old Zaian Aimable-Lina, who was stabbed to death in a park in south London on Thursday.
A 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of murder late on Saturday and is being held at a south London police station, the Metropolitan police said.
Another 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of murder on Friday and has since been released on bail until a date in late January.
The killing of Zaian marked the 29th teenage homicide in London in 2021, a total that now stands at 30 after a 16-year-old was killed in west London less than an hour later. It is the city’s worst ever annual death toll from teenage homicides.
Zaian died at the scene of the attack in Ashburton Park in Croydon shortly after 7.30pm on Thursday. Police said a postmortem examination gave the cause of death as a stab wound to the heart.
DCI Richard Leonard made a direct appeal on Saturday for information about the local boy’s death. He said: “My team are continuing to work around the clock so that we can give Zaian’s family the answers they deserve.
“No matter how insignificant you may think it, if you have information that can help, you must do the right thing and contact us immediately.”
A 16-year-old boy in Yiewsley, west London, who has yet to be named, was the victim of the second fatal stabbing on Thursday. No arrests have been confirmed.
