Police have named a teenager who died this week.

Risaan Udayakumar, 18, from Wembley, was fatally stabbed following a disturbance at a house in The Avenue in Watford on Tuesday night.

He died in hospital after he sustained serious injuries.

His devastated family have paid tribute to the “gentle and academically talented boy”.

In a statement, they said: “As a family we would like to thank all the police and medical staff who tried to help our son, along with the member of the public who was first on the scene.

“Risaan was a gentle, academically talented, former QE Barnet Grammar School student who had just finished his first year studying Civil Engineering at The University of Surrey. He wanted to help build things for this country and his dream was to build a Formula 1 track.

“Our family is devastated and will never be the same again. Risaan leaves a gap that cannot be filled and we do not understand why this has happened to such a bright and caring young man.

“Risaan was very family orientated and did not believe in violence and we ask other parents to teach their children the ‘worth of life’ so that no other family has to go through the pain that we are currently suffering.”

Hillingdon Times:

The Avenue was cordoned off on Wednesday as police carried out an investigation

A 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been charged with murder and appeared before Stevenage youth court yesterday (Thursday, July 12) where he was remanded pending a crown court hearing.

Detective Inspector Justine Jenkins, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: “Our thoughts remain with the young man’s family at what is understandably an extremely difficult time. They are being supported by specially trained officers and we would ask that they are given privacy to try and come to terms with what has happened.

“I understand this incident will have caused concern in the community and I would like to reassure people that we have carried out extensive enquiries into what happened and believe it to be an isolated incident.”