The community of Hall Green in Birmingham has been rocked by the murder of 12-year-old Leo Ross, who was stabbed while walking home. On Sunday, two vigils in his memory were held at local churches, Christ Church in Yardley Wood and St Peter’s Church in Hall Green. “Our hearts, and our prayers, our love pours out for his family and friends,” said St. Peter’s vicar, Martin Stephenson.
The vigils provided the community with an opportunity to surround Leo’s family and friends with love and prayers and lay flowers and light candles in his memory. The murder suspect, a 14-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been charged with Leo’s murder, as well as six separate assaults and possession of a bladed weapon. He was remanded in custody to appear in court on Monday.
Leo was a pupil of Christ Church C of E Secondary Academy in Yardley Wood, where he was described as a “lovely and bright” student. The school confirmed that the suspect was not one of its pupils and had not previously studied there. A GoFundMe page set up by a relative of Leo’s foster carers to raise funds for The Daniel Baird Foundation, an anti-knife crime charity, has raised nearly £10,000. The foundation was created after Daniel Baird was fatally stabbed in the Digbeth area in 2017 and works to increase awareness of the importance of publicly-accessible bleeding control kits.
Leo’s death has left the community heartbroken at the loss of one of their own. Pieces of white paper with messages against knife crime, such as “drop a knife, save a life,” have been placed alongside flowers and candles at a makeshift memorial for the boy in The Shire Country Park. Leo’s death serves as another tragic reminder of the shockingly high levels of knife crime in the UK, particularly among young people. The country continues to grapple with the best ways to prevent further tragic deaths like Leo’s
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
