Vinnie O’Dowd, Ellie Price, Frankie McCamley & Aurelia Foster
BBC News
Marie Bokassa
Marie Bokassa with her son, Kelyan, who was stabbed to death on Tuesday
The mother of a 14-year-old boy who was stabbed to death on a bus in south-east London has said she is not surprised her son was killed.
Kelyan Bokassa was groomed by gangs from the age of six years old, his mother Marie Bokassa said.
He died shortly after being attacked on a 472 double-decker bus on Woolwich Church Street on Tuesday afternoon.
No arrests have been made, but detectives say they are “working at pace” to find those responsible.
Marie Bokassa
Kelyan was kind and good at football, his mother Marie Bokassa said
Speaking to the BBC from her flat in Greenwich, Ms Bokassa described Kelyan as “caring, very caring” and kind.
However, she said he had experienced some “extremely challenging times” and had been taken into care for a number of years.
She added Kelyan was “underweight, very hungry, tattooed and exposed to drugs” but they had just enjoyed Christmas together and he was back at school.
She said she asked for help and tried to prevent him from associating with gangs but did not receive support from the authorities, and her son “still had one foot on the streets”.
As a result, she said she was traumatised and shocked by his death, but not surprised.
“I feel hurt because I tried to pre
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