Adam had been to the cinema earlier in the evening

They gathered at Boundary Road in Plaistow, east London, where Adam Regis, 15, nephew of former athlete John Regis was killed on Saturday.

He had been stabbed in the chest and abdomen and later died in hospital.

The head teacher of Kingsford Community School in Beckton, where Adam was a student, also spoke of the "sadness" and "shock" at the teenager's death.

Following Monday's vigil, Adam's friend Dukati Crane said: "If someone was upset Adam would always be there.

"He would stick up for people. He was just a great person altogether. He didn't deserve it and whoever did it is just scum."

Our thoughts are with his family to whom we express our heartfelt sympathy and condolences Joan Deslandes, head teacher Send us your comments

Kingsford head, Joan Deslandes, said in a statement: "The whole school community is extremely saddened and shocked by the news of Adam's death.

"At this difficult time our thoughts are with his family to whom we express our heartfelt sympathy and condolences."

Det Ch Insp Ian Stevenson, of the Metropolitan Police, said there was "absolutely nothing to indicate that it was a gang-related act".

Adam had been to the Showcase Cinema in Beckton with some friends on Saturday night.

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They are thought to have travelled back from the cinema by bus, possibly on the 104 or the 376.

They got off at about 2100 GMT on Romford Road near Warwick Road, where Adam is believed to have then separated from his friends.

"At some point during this journey he was stabbed - we believe close to where he was found, given the extent of his injuries," a police statement said.

Det Ch Insp Stevenson said police would like to speak to two black males seen running along Kingsland Road soon after Adam collapsed on Boundary Road.

Police are examining CCTV footage including tapes from buses, conducting house-to-house inquiries and forensic examinations.

Separately, a 34-year-old man was stabbed half a mile away by East Ham Tube station in the early hours of Monday. Police have not linked the two stabbings.

Adam is the second London teenager to die in a knife attack in the past week. Kodjo Yenga, 16, was stabbed to death in Hammersmith, west London, on Wednesday.