Renell Charles: Fundraiser for funeral of Walthamstow teenage stab victim

Friends of the family of a teenager who was stabbed to death outside his school gates are raising funds to cover the cost of his funeral.

Renell Charles, 16, a pupil at Kelmscott School in Walthamstow, east London, died after being stabbed in the chest on Friday May 5.

The “brutal attack” happened close to the school on Markhouse Road shortly after the end of the day, and was witnessed by other students and passers-by.

Renell had left school and was walking along the road when his attacker allegedly got out of a taxi and ran towards him, assaulted him and knocked him to the ground.

The attacker then chased Renell, pulled out a large machete and stabbed him several times, it is claimed. Police and medics were called to the scene but the victim could not be saved.

A post-mortem identified two particularly significant injuries; a fatal wound to the chest and a deep stab to the back.

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with Renell’s murder.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help his family cover the funeral costs.

Organisers Marcus Mcnaught and Tyrell Charles wrote: “Renell was a son, brother, nephew. He was loved by everyone. His innocent life was taken at 4:39 on 05/05/23. And now his family has to cover all the expenses of the funeral. Therefore helping out the family would relieve them of the last thing on their mind.”

So far the fundraiser has raised over £7,200.

Last week a heartbreaking video of Renell was shared on social media by filmmaker Kay Rufai. The video was filmed just months before the teenager’s death.

The haunting video which was filmed as part of the Smile-ing Boys Project shows Renell dressed in his school uniform talking about teenage violence.

“Right now especially at this time, this generation it’s not really the best generation, let’s be real,” he said.

“People are dying out there unnecessarily, people are getting hurt. Civilians are being hurt, innocent people are being killed.

“Young Black boys like me and other Black boys in the programme, they all need a chance. We deserve a chance to show that not all Black boys are just those tough hard gangsters.

“We’ve always got a smile on our face no matter the situation.”

Kelmscott School headteacher Sam Jones called it a “senseless knife attack” and said these are the “darkest days” for the student’s family and the Kelmscott community.