Ex-private schoolboy among three graffiti artists hit by train
A FINE ARTS student who attended a private school in Hampstead has been named as one of the suspected graffiti artists who died on Monday morning after being hit by a train. Harrison Scott-hood, 23, is thought to have been taking part in a street art project on a dangerous part of the tracks near Loughborough Junction when he was hit by a train alongside two friends. Alberto Fresneda Carrasco, 19, and Jack Gilbert, 23, also lost their lives in the accident. Mr Scott-hood’s parents, Perry and Susie, have described their son, whose graffiti artist “tag” was Lover, as a “kind and beautiful young man” in a tribute released through the British Transport Police (BTP).
“We are completely heartbroken by the loss of our only son, Harrison,” they said. “He was the love of our life, a kind and beautiful young man and we were beyond broken by this news.
“Many people will know Harrison loved to travel, he was a beautiful artist and spent time recently travelling around Vietnam and Cambodia.
“Harrison completed us. He is irreplaceable and we will hold the memories of him dearly.”
The BTP said on Monday they believed the men were hit by a freight train in the early hours of the morning, before being discovered by another train driver at around 7.30am.
The family of American-born Mr Carrasco, from Hampstead, also issued a statement following the accident, stating they thought he had been paint- ing graffiti. It read: “With great pain we have received the news of the death of our son, Alberto, in the incident in which two other young people also lost their lives in the vicinity of Brixton station.
“We believe the three were hit by a train when they were painting graffiti late at night in a particularly dangerous place.”
Police have since warned of the “massive risk” graffiti artists make by trespassing on train tracks after spray cans were believed to have been found near the bodies.
Det Supt Gary Richardson from BTP said: “We have a dedicated team working to establish how these young men came to be on the tracks. 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.”
A tweet by Brian Cooke, a former Transport for London (TFL) board member, has prompted anger online after he described the three boys as “common scum who cost the railway millions and keep fares high”.
Mr Cooke was a TFL board member between 2012 and 2016.
He was removed as chairman of London Travelwatch after breaching the terms of his appointment by declaring his support for Boris Johnson days before the 2008 mayoral election.
One Instagram user described his comments as “insensitive and ignorant”, while another said he had gone “too far”.
John Shelley, the father of Mr Scott hood’s childhood best friend, said he was shocked to hear of the deaths, adding: “My son is an artist like myself, and his friend was too, definitely not a ‘yob’ as some have surmised. Whatever their character or intentions, these boys didn’t deserve this. My son is distraught.”
Friends of Mr Carrasco told The Daily Telegraph that the “really funny” teenager had aspirations to be a graphic designer, but loved the thrill of “tagging”. Matilda Munyard, a close friend, said: “Tagging was his favourite thing to do. A couple of weeks ago when I saw him he said his favourite thing was to go trackside and tag along the tracks.”
Overnight on Monday, three black hearts and RIP were sprayed on shutters outside Loughborough Junction station in South London, along with spray cans and bright bouquets of flowers.
‘He was the love of our life, a kind and beautiful young man and we were beyond broken by this news’