28 October 2008

Police appeal for witnesses after man dies in south London shooting

Police appeal for witnesses after man dies in south London shooting

Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward after a 21-year-old man was shot dead in a busy part of south London.

Officers were called to White Hart Street in Kennington, at 9.10pm last night, where they found a man with gunshot wounds.

Paramedics and an air ambulance were called but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

A member of staff at the White Hart pub said customers at the front of the building had heard the gunfire.

"We saw loads of police cars around and we heard that someone had been shot or was firing a gun.

"A couple of the guys at the front said they had heard gun shots."

Detective Inspector Tony Broughton, from the Met's Trident unit, which investigates gun crime within the black community, has asked for anyone with information to come forward.

"This murder happened in a busy part of town, just after nine o'clock on a Friday night.

"We know there were many people in the area. Several witnesses have already come forward, but there will be others who saw something or know something. We need those people to get in touch with us."

A 21-year-old neighbour, who refused to give her name, said: "We heard the gunshots and thought it was fireworks. We heard 'bang, bang, bang' and I thought, it's a bit early for fireworks. Then we heard there was a boy on the floor and he'd been shot four times.

"I know the boy who it was, we used to hang around together with other youngsters when we were kids though I've lost touch with him since.

"I saw him a few days ago, it's shocking to think that now he's dead. The time was when people used to fight with their fists, now it's all gone crazy."

This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Saturday October 18 2008. It was last updated at 15.01 on October 18 2008.

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