Sombre moment BBC presenter reads out names of teens killed in London this year

• Elianne Andam is the 15th teenager to be killed in London this year

• Her death has sparked a wider debate about knife crime and violence in the capital

• Some campaigners have called for harsher sentencing, but others say the issue runs deeper

Watch: Amol Rajan lists names of teenagers tragically killed in London in 2023

This is the sombre moment a BBC radio presenter lists the 15 teenage homicide victims in London this year.

Thirteen of the victims whose names were read out by Amol Rajan on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme were stabbed to death while two others were shot.

Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme on Friday morning, Rajan says: "When Elianne Andam, a beautiful 15-year-old girl with reported ambitions to be a lawyer, was stabbed to death in Croydon this week, she became the 15th teenager this year alone who was a victim of homicide in London. Thirteen of those 15 were stabbed. The other two were shot." Rajan then proceeds to solemnly recount the names.

Who are the 15 victims in London?

10 April – Chima Osuji, 17, was fatally stabbed after being chased by an attacker in Chingford, east London.

13 April – Tyler McDermott, 17, died after being found with a gunshot wound in Norman Road, Tottenham, north London.

5 May – Wazabakana Elenda Jordan Kukabu, known as Jordan, 18, from Romford, was stabbed to death near Dagenham Heathway Underground Station.

5 May – Renell Charles, 16, a pupil at Kelmscott School in Walthamstow, was ambushed and fatally stabbed in the chest near his school.

19 June – Khaled Saleh, 17, was found with stab wounds in Paddington Green, central London.

26 June – Victor Lee, 17, was found stabbed in a canal under Scrubs Lane, near Willesden Junction, west London.

29 June – Leonardo Reid, 15, was killed during a music video shoot in Elthorne Road, Archway, north London.

3 July – Andre Salmon, 18, was riding a moped when he was shot in the chest in Stamford Road, Tottenham, north London.

9 July – Rahaan Ahmed Amin, 16, was stabbed in the heart in West Ham Park in Newham, east London.

14 July – Claudyo Jauad Lafayette, 17, was killed in a fight in the street following a birthday party in Granville Road, Kilburn, north west London.

28 July – Stefan Valentine Balaban, 19, was stabbed in Whitchurch Lane, Edgware, north London.

7 August – Yusuf Mohamoud, 18, was found with fatal knife injuries near a supermarket in Regent’s Park Road, Finchley, north London.

4 September – Anis Omar Zen, 19, was fatally stabbed in Masefield Avenue in Stanmore, north London.

20 September – Max Moy Wheatley, 19, was stabbed in Jubilee Country Park close to Tent Peg Lane in Petts Wood, south east London.

27 September – Elianne Andam, 15, was stabbed on her way to school in Croydon, south London.

'Not an isolated problem with isolated solutions'

A court heard on Friday that Elianne was hanging out with two friends before school when the attack happened. She was wounded in the neck.

A 17-year-old boy appeared before Croydon Magistrates’ Court charged with her murder. He was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on Monday.

Elianne’s death has sparked a wider debate about knife crime and violence involving young people in the capital.

“Another life lost,” Bishop Mark Nicholson, from Acts Christian Church, said on Thursday as he led a vigil next to the police cordon where Elianne died.

“In our city always, majoring on knife crime.”

In a statement released through the Metropolitan Police, her family said: "Our hearts are broken by the senseless death of our daughter. Elianne was the light of our lives."

Rishi Sunak said on Thursday he was “appalled” at the killing of Elianne.

The prime minister said: “It’s important to give them [police] the powers that they need, whether that’s stop and search… But most importantly we need to toughen up on the sentencing on the people who perpetuate these heinous crimes.”

Idris Elba, the London-born actor who has fronted anti-knife crime campaigns in the past, echoed Sunak’s call, saying “tougher deterrents and punishments” should be enforced on those who carry weapons.

But Brooke Kinsella, the former EastEnders actress whose brother, Ben, was stabbed to death in the capital 15 years ago, said it is an issue which runs deeper.

“Knife crime is not an isolated problem with isolated solutions," she told The Independent on Friday. "It is a symptom of deeper societal issues, a failure of successive governments."

Kinsella, who believes there has been "no meaningful change" since 2008, when 16-year-old Ben was killed, called for more consensus across political divides.

"We need lasting change, lasting funding with cross-party support and a commitment to our young people, so families like mine will no longer have to suffer this immeasurable grief.”