A ‘kind’ 12-year-old schoolboy was ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’ when he was stabbed to death in a park.
Leo Ross was found by a member of the public with a stab wound to the stomach on the banks of the River Cole in the affluent Hall Green area of Birmingham at 3pm on Tuesday.
He was treated at the scene but was sadly pronounced dead around four hours later.
Following his death, officers arrested a 14-year-old with a Birmingham address on suspicion of murder and he currently remains in police custody.
Paying tribute to the youngster, Leo’s devastated classmates described him as ‘helpful and welcoming’, while his heartbroken family said he was ‘funny, sweet and had not one aggressive bone in his body’.
It is thought Leo was targeted on the way home from school, just a 10-minute journey, and one local woman told BBC Midlands Today he did not deserve what happened to him.
Describing the youngster as a ‘lovely, caring, innocent little boy’, she added: ‘He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.’
On Wednesday, bosses at Christ Church Secondary Academy, where Leo was a pupil, told parents that the alleged assailant had never been a student there.
Leo Ross, 12, died after being stabbed in the stomach in the Hall Green area of Birmingham on Tuesday
On Wednesday, bosses at Christ Church Secondary Academy (pictured), where Leo was a pupil, told parents that the alleged assailant had never been a student of theirs
A member of the public leaves flowers at the crime scene on Wednesday morning
Writing on its website, the school said: ‘Dear parents and carers, to update everyone now we have clearance from West Midlands Police, we can confirm that the suspect has never been a student at Christ Church C of E Secondary Academy.
‘We are in close contact with the bereaved family and with their permission we are opening a book of remembrance for students and the community to celebrate and to honour his life. We are also working with the family to plan a memorial service and memorial.
‘We have had a team of educational psychologists, counsellors and mentors in school to support the students and staff and will continue to offer support for as long as the children and staff need this.’
Tributes have been pouring in for Leo since his passing, with friends having left flowers at the scene near Scribers Lane.
A family member of Leo, who asked not to be named, told the Mail: ‘He was a really good lad, a really nice lad, cheerful, not a bad bone in his body. He’s a golden kid.’
It is thought Leo was targeted on the way home from school, just a 10-minute journey, as many pupils use the path as a cut through.
The member of the public who found Leo went banging on nearby doors, asking for the postcode to guide the emergency services to the scene.
Neighbours claimed that the previous assault on the elderly woman had been by someone she had not known, raising the prospect that both attacks might have been random.
Chief Superintendent Richard North speaking to the media at the scene near Scribers Lane in the Hall Green area of Birmingham where Leo was stabbed on Tuesday afternoon
A forensics officer works at the scene near Scribers Lane in the Hall Green area of Birmingham
Devastated school friends left flowers and handwritten notes for Leo
Tributes named Leo Ross as the victim of the attack as dozens of bouquets were laid
Dozens of bouquets were laid at the scene by Wednesday evening
Devastated schoolmates of Leo visited the police cordon next to Trittiford Mill Park, on Wednesday where they left flowers, candles and tributes.
Riley, 13, was in the same class as Leo. He said: ‘He was a really nice lad. Never gets in trouble, he always attended lessons, he’s always in school. He had some friends. He’s just a quiet kid.’
Riley’s mother Christine Barton, 42, said: ‘What happened to him is really, really sad. My kids were up most of the night crying over it.
‘They said what a sweet boy he was never ever in trouble. It’s definitely frightened my children.
‘If they feel uncomfortable going to and from school, I’m happy to drive them for a while and pick them up, because I’m worried about their safety at the moment.
‘It’s just so raw, it’s horrible. Something really, really needs to change – so many young lives have been taken. I just really feel for the little boy’s mother.’
Friends of Leo were said to have taken to social media to post ‘LLL’ which stands for ‘Long Live Leo’.
Christ Church School held a special assembly for pupils on Wednesday to give them space to grieve for their lost friend.
A 12-year-old boy was stabbed near a primary school in Birmingham on Tuesday
Speaking after laying flowers, one emotional school pal said: ‘He was a really good kid. He was nice, always a good kid.
‘We had an assembly and we did a little worship about Leo and how he was kind and all that stuff. And we prayed for him.
‘He was a good kid, he’d always do his work. He always liked Science. And he was so nice to everyone and was always welcoming.
‘These boys, his close friends, told us what happened and he got stabbed, and I was really upset. Everyone was really upset and teachers I know were really upset too.’
A mother, whose child goes to the same school, added: ‘It’s just really shocking isn’t it, because you hear about these things and then when it happens on your own doorstep in your children’s school, it’s heartbreaking.’
One note left at the scene read: ‘Rest easy, you were taken too soon. Hope you’re having fun up there, you will be missed and we will get justice.’
Another wrote: ‘Rest in peace Leo Ross. You were loved by many people and your killer’s one sicko. I am thinking you are in a better place. I hope you are enjoying the afterlife.’
Another said: ‘RIP Leo Ross. We will miss you loads. Our lives won’t be the same without you. You will always be the kindest. Fly high Leo. You never deserved this, ever.’
Police officers at the scene near Scribers Lane in the Hall Green area of Birmingham
A police dog handler was spotted at the scene of the fatal stabbing this morning
Chief Superintendent Richard North speaking to the media at the scene near Scribers Lane in the Hall Green area of Birmingham
A police officer at the scene on Scribers Lane in the Hall Green area of Birmingham where a 12-year-old boy was stabbed
Chief Superintendent Richard North told a press conference today that a member of the public tried to help the boy at the scene, near Scribers Lane, before emergency services arrived.
He said a passer-by had attempted to administer aid amid the ‘chaotic and absolutely traumatic scene’, adding: ‘Sadly, despite the best efforts of police officers and paramedics who treated him at the scene, he lost his life later that day at about 7.30pm.’
Mr North told reporters: ‘As a result of urgent inquiries, a boy aged 14 has been arrested. That happened at 7pm yesterday at an address in Birmingham.
‘He remains in custody and has been arrested on suspicion of murder. The same 14-year-old has also been arrested for another assault, for an unrelated matter. He is also in custody for that.’
Mr North added: ‘This is an absolutely appalling incident. We have got specialist detectives working on the inquiry, but also supporting the loved ones of the 12-year-old that has very, very sadly and tragically lost his life.’
‘I would ask the public not to speculate about what happened – this is a very early stage of the inquiry. We are obviously dealing with it with a tremendous amount of priority.
‘Detectives are working around the clock to get to the truth of what happened.’
He added: ‘What I would urge is that anyone who was in the area of Scribers Lane at around that time – the incident happened at 3.40pm – get in touch with us and let us know where they were, if they saw anything unusual or suspicious.
The boy was attacked near Scribers Lane in Hall Green, Birmingham, yesterday
West Midlands Police hold a crime scene on Scribers Lane in the Hall Green area
‘We have set up a major incident public portal, which can be found on our website. People can find that and they can upload information directly on to that. It might be CCTV they have, phone footage or dashcam footage.’
Answering media questions near a passageway beneath a railway bridge leading to the country park where the boy was stabbed, Chief Spt North described the 14-year-old in custody as ‘a key line of inquiry’ and his arrest as ‘significant’.
Questioned about the scale of knife crime in the Birmingham area, Mr North said anyone who is found carrying a knife over the age of criminal responsibility faced a ‘very high chance’ of being arrested and brought into custody.
He continued: ‘On a day like today it’s really difficult to talk about the progress that we have made about knife crime. Because it’s always going to look weak against the fact of what’s happened to this 12-year-old.
‘I don’t want to cause any additional stress to the people that knew him and loved him.’
Residents living near a riverside path leading into a wooded area of the park spoke of their shock at discovering the victim’s age and that he had died from his injuries.
One resident, who declined to give her name, said a member of the public had knocked on her door after 3pm on Tuesday asking for the area’s postcode to assist emergency services in reaching the scene.
She told reporters: ‘The first thing I knew was a gentleman came and asked for the postcode as somebody had been injured. He just came and knocked the door.
Police continued to attend the crime scene on Wednesday following the stabbing
Police officers searched the park where Leo was found throughout Wednesday
‘We had two police cars and then a helicopter. I found out somebody had been stabbed last night but it wasn’t till this morning that I realised the poor little soul had died.’
The area close to the scene of the killing has been blighted by antisocial behaviour in recent weeks – with a woman being pushed off her bike on Monday and reports of a separate indecent exposure incident.
‘We have many drug dealers hanging around where the police car is now, I try to keep out of the way,’ one neighbour said, gesturing in the direction of the nearby police cordon.
‘You see groups of them late at night, you can tell they are up to no good. It’s definitely got worse recently. It happens on at least a weekly basis.’
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesperson said: ‘We were called to reports of a stabbing on Scribers Park Lane at 3.31pm yesterday.
‘One ambulance, a paramedic officer and a MERIT trauma doctor with a Critical Care Paramedic attended the scene. On arrival we discovered one patient, a boy.
‘Ambulance staff administered emergency treatment at the scene before transporting the boy to hospital.’
Christ Church, Church of England Secondary Academy in Yardley Wood shared a statement on its website following the death of a 12-year-old pupil near Scribers Lane in Hall Green on Tuesday.
The statement said: ‘Our condolences and deepest sympathies go out to the family and friends of one of our CCSA students.
‘This is a very sad time for our school community and we are focusing on supporting our students, staff and families with professional support.
‘As this is a live police investigation, we are unable to share any further details with you.
‘At this difficult time, we would urge parents and carers not to contact the school office unless it is for an emergency.’
