A 15-year-old girl was stabbed to death while on her way to school just south of London on Wednesday morning, and a 17-year-old male suspect was arrested in connection with her death, the police said.

The Metropolitan Police said that officers were at the scene at around 8:30 am (local time), around two minutes after receiving reports that the girl was stabbed in Croydon, a busy residential and business district just south of London.

Chief superintendent Andy Brittain said that police vehicles, paramedics and an air ambulance were dispatched, but the girl was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after. Around 75 minutes after the stabbing, Brittain said that a 17-year-old male suspect, who may have known the victim, was arrested not far from the scene of the crime.

Brittain said the suspect was in custody awaiting questioning. “This is every parent’s worst nightmare, and I know the officers who responded this morning, along with our emergency service colleagues, are devastated at the victim’s death,” he said near the scene of the stabbing.