Two teenagers and a 44-year-old woman have been arrested after 14-year-old Kelyan Bokassa was stabbed to death on a bus in Woolwich.
A 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of murder, they both remain in custody.
A 44-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, she also remains in custody.
Kelyan was attacked on the Route 472 double-decker on Woolwich Church Road near the junction with the A205 South Circular Road in south London at 2.28pm last Tuesday. The teenager died at the scene.
Kelyan’s heartbroken mother, Mary Bokassa told the BBC she was ‘not surprised’ by her son’s death (Jeremy Selwyn)
The teenager’s mother, Mary Bokassa, earlier spoke of her devastation on learning of her son’s death, saying he had been groomed by gangs from the age of six.
Speaking to media from her flat in Greenwich, Ms Bokassa described her son as “caring”, saying he had an interest in both football and music.
“I feel hurt because I tried to prevent it. I’ve tried so many, so many times. I screamed it, I said ‘my son is going to be killed’”, she told the BBC.
Some 10 teenagers were killed in London last year, nine of whom were the victims of stabbings while one died in a shooting.
Rev J. Van Der Valk holding a candle during a vigil at St Mary Magdalene church in Woolwich, south London (Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire)
Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Lee who is leading on the investigation said: “While these arrests mark a significant step forward in this investigation, we continue to appeal for anyone with information about Keylan’s murder to come forward and speak to us.
“I would like to thank officers for working around the clock in order to locate our suspects and praise the Woolwich community for their on-going support and patience whilst we have carried out our investigation.
“I know that this incident deeply affected you all, and I hope that these two arrests reassure you that we are doing everything to tackle violent offenders across London.”
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.