£7k-a-term public school graffiti artist killed by train
His body found with 2 friends next to busy commuter line
‘We are completely heartbroken’
A PRIVATELY educated fine arts student and a teenage photographer were among three graffiti artists killed by a train.
The body of Harrison ScottHood, 23, known as Harry, was found close to those of his two friends on a busy South London railway line on Monday morning.
The budding artist, who attended £7,000aterm Hampstead Fine Arts College, was a wellknown figure in the capital’s underground graffiti scene.
Known by his tag ‘Lover’, he had been commissioned to undertake professional graffiti murals for firms. Friends described him and the other two men killed in the incident – Alberto Carrasco, 19, known as ‘Trip’, and Jack ‘KBag’ Gilbert, 23 – as the ‘Three Musketeers’.
British Transport Police said they believe the trio were struck by an outofservice commuter train at Loughborough Junction at 1am on Monday. They were found on a 65fthigh section of raised track which offered no refuge area to escape an oncoming train.
Mr ScottHood’s parents Perry Hood, 71, and Susie Begg, 64, were too upset to speak at their £750,000 home in Muswell Hill, North London, last night.
But in a statement, they paid tribute to their ‘intelligent and wonderful’ son who they described as a ‘beautiful artist’.
The couple said: ‘We are completely heartbroken by the loss of our only son, Harrison.
‘He was the love of our life, a kind and beautiful young man and we were beyond broken by this news. Harrison was loved by everyone, he was an intelligent and wonderful boy who had so many close friends. Harrison completed us.’
Mrs Begg, an artistic agent who runs her own agency, had recently shared a painting by her son of their pet cat with the comment, ‘Think it’s rather lovely.’
Mr ScottHood was a student at Hampstead Fine Arts College for two years until June 2012, studying Alevels in media, graphic design and photography.
Principal Candida Cave said: ‘He was a very individual and talented student who created unusual and vibrant images, often influenced by contemporary “street art”.
‘He was very popular with his fellow students and had a good sense of humour. He went on to study art and design at a London Art School.’ The family of aspiring graphic designer Mr Carrasco said his death has ‘left a deep hole’ which can never be filled.
The teenager, who held American and Spanish nationality, was a football fanatic who was born in New York and moved to London in 2011. He was due to start studying at the London College of Communication in September. His parents they last heard from him at 10pm on Sunday, when he said he would return for dinner, but concerns grew when he did not arrive.
In a statement, they said he was a budding entrepreneur, buying clothes from charity shops and selling them online at a profit. ‘From a very young age, his passion was to draw. His absence has left a deep hole in the family.’
A close friend of Mr Carrasco, known to many as Alby, said he aimed to go to university to study photography, adding that he was a ‘free spirit’. He said: ‘Every time we’d go out and do graffiti, he would stand back and take a picture for his collection. It’s so sad.’
Mr Gilbert’s father was too upset to comment at the family’s semisaid detached home in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire. His nextdoor neighbour said: ‘Jack was very polite and caring. Every time I saw him he was always polite.’
According to Mr Gilbert’s Facebook profile, he attended Kingsmead School, a mixed secondary with academy status in Enfield, North London.
Tensions were running high at Loughborough Junction yesterday as friends of the three men visited to pay tributes.
Three black hearts and RIP were sprayed on shutters outside the station as wellwishers also left bottles of spray paint with the nozzles removed. Extra officers were drafted in after youths defaced a flower memorial. They daubed slogans criticising the authorities, including police and Transport for London, for their actions.
Det Supt Gary Richardson, of British Transport Police, said last night: ‘The initial evidence we have been able to gather indicates that the men may have been on the track for the purposes of spraying graffiti.’