A 16-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in Northampton on Wednesday afternoon has been identified by police as Rohan Shand.
Affectionately known as Fred, he died of a single stab wound to the chest in the Kingsthorpe suburb of the city shortly after 3:35 p.m. despite the best efforts of paramedics.
The boy’s family were said to be “devastated” by his death in the incident on Harborough Road, near the junction with The Cock Hotel.
Four men, ages 14, 16, 21 and 49, were arrested Wednesday in connection with the death and remain in custody.
A forensic autopsy carried out on Thursday by a Home Office pathologist identified the single stab wound as the cause of his death.
Formal identification has not been carried out, but the child’s family has been informed and has the support of specialized agents.
Northamptonshire Police called for their privacy to be respected and urged the public not to share “insensitive posts and images” on social media to avoid causing “additional distress”.
Detective Inspector Simon Barnes, the lead investigating officer, said: “Our thoughts continue to be with Fred’s family and friends as they try to come to terms with his death.
“This is an exceptionally sad and tragic incident and has understandably had a huge impact on the neighborhood and the community at large, and we know that people are very shocked and upset by what happened.
“Our officers remain in the Kingsthorpe area and anyone with concerns is encouraged to speak to them as they will be happy to help.
“We would also again appeal to anyone who may have information who has yet come forward to do so.
“If you have private CCTV footage or a dash cam, we’d like to hear from you.
“His archival material may provide valuable information that could help us piece together what happened at the time of Fred’s attack.”
Anyone with information or CCTV, doorbell or dashcam images of the area at that time should call Northamptonshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 23000174855.