Flats stab girl, 15, is named

The teenager was murdered on her way home from school in London on Monday afternoon.

A man in his 30s who was arrested in connection with the incident was being questioned at a south London police station. The suspect is believed to have been known to Arsema's family.

A mother and her eight-year-old daughter found the teenager's body - still clothed in her school uniform - in Matheson Lang House, near Waterloo station.

She is the 16th teenager to die as a result of violent crime in the capital this year.

Sunny Salique, a 20-year-old student who lives in the tower block with his aunt, said residents were horrified by the murder. Another resident, who did not wish to be named, said she thought the murdered girl was one of four children and described the family as "good and respectable".

Police have said they are keeping an open mind about the motive for the killing, but do not think it was gang-related.

Meanwhile, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith urged mothers to sit down with their teenage children to warn them about the dangers of carrying a knife before it is "too late."

Speaking on GMTV, Ms Smith outlined measures to tackle knife crime, including an advertising campaign aimed at deterring young people from carrying knives and knife arches and wands.

Asked about the stabbing of the schoolgirl in London and of anti-gun campaigner Pat Regan in Leeds, Ms Smith said events such as these were worrying. She said: "It is these sort of events that make us all feel worried and want to redouble our efforts."