Daniel Anjorin was a “true scholar” with “gentle character: school mourns Nigerian-British schoolboy killed in sword attack

*Photo: The late Daniel Anjorin*

A schoolboy killed in a sword attack was a “true scholar” with a “gentle character”, his school said as it mourned his loss less than a year after the murder of one of its former students in Nottingham.

Daniel Anjorin, 14, was named as the pupil of Bancroft’s School killed in Hainault, north-east London, on Tuesday.

He suffered fatal injuries during a 22-minute rampage by a man armed with a samurai sword. Four others were seriously injured.

Only 10 months ago, Grace O’Malley-Kumar, a 19-year-old former pupil at the same private school in Woodford Green, was stabbed to death by Valdo Calocane during a spate of frenzied attacks in Nottingham that left two others dead.

Simon Marshall, the headmaster at the £25,000-a-year school, told on Wednesday of the “profound shock and sorrow” felt by pupils and teachers after they learnt of the “heartbreaking news” of Daniel’s death.

The teenager was said to have been travelling from his home in Hainault to the school when he was killed.

Mr Marshall said the boy, who joined Bancroft’s at the age of seven, had demonstrated “commendable dedication to his academic pursuits” and had become a “core member of our community”.

He said his death “will have a lasting impact on us,” and added: “Losing such a young pupil is something we will always struggle to come to terms with.”

The school’s flag was flying at half-mast on Wednesday as pupils and parents brought bouquets of flowers to lay at its front gates.

In a letter sent to parents, the headmaster said: “It seems scarcely believable that less than a year on from the terrible death of Grace O’Malley-Kumar in the Nottingham attacks we are facing fresh sorrow.”

He added: “It is therefore with great sadness and shock that I am writing to inform you of the tragic death of Daniel Anjorin, one of our pupils.

“Our thoughts and prayers at this moment are with Daniel’s family and friends.

“More details will be forthcoming over the coming hours and days, but for now, our focus is on supporting the members of our community and particularly those who knew Daniel well.”

The school said it was offering support to grieving pupils, as well as his family “during this incredibly difficult time”

An unnamed relative of the schoolboy told Sky News that he was “a wonderful … well loved … and hard-working” child whose death had left “a gaping wound in the family”.

“No family should have to go through what we are experiencing today,” they said. “Any family will understand it’s an absolute tragedy.”

Daniel’s parents are understood to be Dr Ebenezer Anjorin, a 59-year-old health and safety consultant who worked at Transport for London for 20 years, and Grace Anjorin, a 49-year-old science teacher at the Holy Family Catholic School in Walthamstow.

The couple, of Nigerian heritage, are believed to have two other children and the family regularly attend the Jubilee Church in Enfield.

In a statement, the church urged its congregation “to pray for the family at this sad time”.

A police cordon remained in place at the scene on Wednesday, as friends of the Anjorin family spoke of their dismay.

Janti Charalambous, whose son attended prep school with the victim, said: “Daniel was an amazing young man.

“He was good at his studies. He was good at his sports. Very much loved by many, many people and [he] came from a wonderful family.

“The family are in shock. Obviously, they are very heartbroken. Their faith is sustaining them, and we are all supporting them. He was a joyful boy.”

Ade Caxton-Cole, who met with the family on Wednesday afternoon, added: “They have hope and we have hope that we will all be seeing him one day, so long as we have hope in Christ.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Grace’s parents said they had sent their condolences to the Anjorin family.

Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Dr Sanjoy Kumar, her father, described the attack as “horrific”.

He said the grief likely being felt by the 14-year-old’s family “is only felt by a few like us who have lost children in these absolutely appalling circumstances”.

Dr Sinead O’Malley, Grace’s mother, said she hoped the family would heal in time but added that “the hurt never goes away”.

Grace was killed along with fellow Nottingham University student Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates, a school caretaker. Calocane admitted the killings on the basis of diminished responsibility.

In a statement on Wednesday, Scotland Yard revealed harrowing details about the Hainault attacks, which began just before 7am on Tuesday.

The force said the suspect, wearing a yellow hooded top, drove a van into a 33-year-old man and a property on Laing Close. The man was then attacked and suffered a wound to his neck.

A 35-year-old was then left with “lacerations to his arm” when he was set upon inside a nearby house.

After that, Daniel was attacked and suffered fatal injuries.

Officers arrived within 12 minutes of the first 999 call, which was made shortly before 7am. A man was arrested 22 minutes later.

The statement said officers used incapacitant spray and Tasers, but said they initially had “limited impact”.

Two officers were attacked by the suspect, suffering serious injuries. The Met said they would require long-term rehabilitation to help them recover.

It added: “The suspect fled again before being surrounded by other officers in Thurlow Gardens. They used Taser to overpower him.”

A 36-year-old man was then arrested on suspicion of murder.

Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, said one male officer suffered serious injuries to his hand, while a female colleague was in surgery for several hours after receiving “horrifically serious” wounds to her arm.

He described the death of Daniel as “everyone’s worst nightmare”.

Sir Mark added: “People say officers run towards danger. What you’ve actually seen on some of the videos that are sort of around social media and on new sites such as your own, you actually see what that really looks like.

“You’ve got officers running towards someone who’s waving a sword.”

A resident of Thurlow Gardens, where the suspect at one point fled after clambering over garage roofs, said the man was shouting about God as police eventually restrained him.

“They were trying to get him down. It took them quite a while”, the man, who wished to remain anonymous, said.

“He said: ‘God is coming’, or something like this. They were taking stuff off of him, I believe stuff like the knife, and putting them in evidence bags.”

Credit: The Telegraph