Brianna Ghey: Candlelit vigil in Sheffield Peace Gardens sees crowd stand in solidarity over teen’s killing

The vigil, led by Sheffield Solidarity Group and Sheffield Action Group, saw a turnout of hundreds of people as they came together in solidarity to grieve and pay respects to the tragic death of 16-year-old Brianna Ghey.

Brianna was found lying on a path with stab wounds in a park in Warrington on February 11. Members of the public called emergency services at around 3pm where she was tragically pronounced dead at the scene.

Two teenagers, a 15-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, have been charged with her murder and appeared via video link at Liverpool Crown Court for a brief hearing yesterday. They have both been remanded in custody and a provisional trial date has been set for July 10.

Paying tribute, Brianna’s family, who are from Birchwood in Warrington, described her as a “much-loved daughter, granddaughter, and baby sister”, who was “strong, fearless and one of a kind”.

Investigating officers have said it is unclear if the circumstances surrounding her death are hate-related, but an investigation into a motive is ongoing.

A spokesperson from Sheffield Solidarity Group said: “It was clearly a very emotional atmosphere. You could feel a lot of sadness and a lot of grief. I think there was quite a lot of anger in the crowd that we are in this situation to begin with. It was a really powerful moment to come together to feel these emotions as a community.

“I’d like to ask our people that they do not lose sight with this community that’s here for them because it is one thing to organise an event that they can come to, but what’s important day in and day out is that we continue building this support network.”

In a tweet by Sheffield Action Group, they said: “It was the environment of vitriolic hatred spewed by transphobes that emboldened Brianna’s attackers. It was the far right pushing intolerance into the mainstream, running protests and hateful campaigns under the guide of ‘let (white) women speak’ that dehumanised people like us to the point where other children could kill Brianna in broad daylight.”