The Croydon community remains devastated by the tragic murder of 15-year-old schoolgirl, Elianne Andam, in the town centre on Wednesday morning. My thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends, school community and everyone who has been affected.
The council is supporting the police with their investigations into what is believed to be an isolated incident. A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murder.
I know that everyone in Croydon is deeply shocked and saddened by this tragedy and there will understandably be many questions and concerns.
As a community we stood together on Wednesday – partners across the police, health, community and the council. We will continue to stand together and redouble our efforts to work together to support our young people and build an even stronger community here in Croydon.
Our community partners are extremely resilient and able to respond rapidly in difficult moments such as this. That is why the council engaged local mentoring and support groups to be active in the town centre and at bus stops this week – to give reassurance to our young people, to listen, and to signpost to help where needed. Find out more about wellbeing support for children and young people on the council website.
Over the past 12 months, the council has made significant investment in grassroots organisations that work with Croydon’s young people, to support them and make them feel safe, and to provide intervention programmes to guide young people at risk away from violence. But it’s clear that much, much more needs to be done.
We will continue to work with our partners and invest in community safety projects to make our borough safer for everyone who works, lives and travels in Croydon.
