A refugee who fled Afghanistan was stabbed to death in a London park despite a teacher desperately trying to save his life.
The member of staff shielded his Year 8 rugby players during the horrific attack in Twickenham, south-west London.
Named locally as Hazrat Wali, the 18-year-old was attacked during a fight on a footbridge near Richmond Upon Thames School on Tuesday afternoon, it is claimed.
A teacher from the school performed CPR on the victim as his pupils watched on in horror, MyLondon reports.
Onlookers reportedly filmed the stabbing of the teen in Craneford Way Playing Fields on Tuesday, police revealed.
Officers have asked these people not to post the footage on social media as the victim's family come to terms with their loss.
A relative told the Evening Standard : “Hazrat was a very good boy. He came here to study, he was living all on his own in London. His immediate family are all back in Afghanistan.
“I saw him in hospital. He had a fight is all that I’ve heard.”
A woman, whose 13-year-old son saw the victim fall to the ground, added: "The victim and suspects were arguing for a while. The teacher realised what was going on and moved the younger kids away from them.
"The older ones kept on walking to the footbridge where the row carried on. The teacher went over, the boys scarpered and the poor boy dropped to the ground. He was the first to realise he had been stabbed.
"The teacher did an amazing job."
Another witness said the 'hero' teacher gave the youngster CPR.
Police have yet to make any arrests in relation to the stabbing.
In a letter to parents, Richmond Upon Thames School said: "We are deeply shocked to hear of this senseless death and our thoughts are with the young man's family and friends at this very sad time.
"While the teenager didn’t attend Richmond Upon Thames School a loss of any young life is a tragedy that affects all of us.
"At this time I can confirm that the incident is believed to have taken place close to the public footbridge.
"Regrettably, knife crime is a London-wide problem, and the headteacher would like to emphasise how important it is for parents to talk to their children about the dangers of carrying any type of weapon."
Richmond upon Thames College said its principal and top staff were working with police over the unfortunate 'death of a young male'.
Police and the ambulance service were called to the scene at 4.45pm.
The victim was taken to hospital with knife wounds but was pronounced dead at 5.54pm.
His next of kin have been informed and a cordon remains in place. The investigation is ongoing.
Detective Chief Inspector Vicky Tunstall said: “We are still working to establish the motive behind this tragic attack and are following a number of leads.
"Officers have recovered CCTV from the area and spoken to a number of witnesses who described seeing a fight in the moments before Hazrat was attacked.
"We know a lot of people were on the field at the time and I'd urge anyone who has not yet spoken to police to contact us immediately."
She previously asked that any videos of the incident not be shared on social media.
Get all the latest news sent to your inbox. Sign up for the free Mirror newsletter
Chief Superintendent Elisabeth Chapple said: "Our thoughts are with the young victim and his family at this awful time. No young person should lose their life in London.
"Local residents can expect to see an increased police presence in the area.
"If anyone has any concerns, or information that could help, I encourage them to contact those officers and tell us what they know."
