A 16-year-old boy was ‘assassinated’ by a man dressed as a delivery driver on a moped, according to an eyewitness of the ‘enormously shocking’ killing in south London yesterday.
A major police search is still underway to find the gunman following the fatal shooting in Stockwell. The victim has been named as Lathaniel Burrell.
The shooter was disguised as a Deliveroo driver, a relative of the victim revealed.
A man named Michael, who said he was the boy’s uncle, said: ‘They came on a moped dressed as Deliveroo drivers.’
No arrests have yet been made in connection with the incident, which took place on the Studley Estate, close to Stockwell Tube station.
Lathaniel was pronounced dead at the scene in Paradise Road after police received reports of a shooting at around 2.30pm on Tuesday.
An eyewitness told the BBC that the man on the moped shot at one of two boys who came down the stairs at a block of flats.
The other boy is said to have fled the scene, while the moped driver sped off.
They added that the teenager who died was known to be involved in gangs and was well known in the area.
Meanwhile a second witness told that she watched as the teenager ‘dropped’ to the ground after hearing two loud bangs from the playground outside her home.
She said: ‘I’m terrified, I have a teenage boy myself.’
Recalling the events of 2.30pm yesterday afternoon, she continued: ‘I was cleaning, and I heard two loud bangs.
‘At first, I thought it was fireworks, but then I thought it was too early for fireworks.
‘Then I looked out of the window, and I saw two or three boys running, and then one [of the boys] just dropped.
‘One boy stood out to me. He had a grey hoodie on, and he was running with something in his hands in his pocket.
‘And he ran. I saw the boy just drop. He was wearing black.
‘After that I saw a white car pull up and a person get out of the car and it looked like he knew the boy, the way he was acting.
‘He was waving his arms up and down. Then he got back in the car and drove off again.
‘That’s when all the police and ambulances started to turn up.
‘I am terrified. I’ve got a 13-year-old boy who I am already a bit worried about.’
The woman told how the housing estate had deteriorated in recent years.
She said: ‘It used to be lovely around here. It just to be great, but over the past two years I’ve been noticing a lot of groups hanging around. And not just young kids, grown men as well.
‘It’s terrifying, it’s scary, it really is.
‘You read about it in the papers every day. It happens everywhere, every day. But when it happens so close to you it’s frightening.’
Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Lee said: ‘This is a horrendous crime, which has shocked the local community and beyond. Our thoughts are with Lathaniel’s family and friends at this devastating time.
‘Our investigation is continuing at pace, examining CCTV and collecting witness statements.
‘We have deployed officers to the area on reassurance patrol, and have officers on the ground engaging with the local schools.
‘We need the help of the public too – if you were in the local area please think remember back to yesterday afternoon and come forward with any information, no matter how small.
‘We are particularly keen to speak to anyone who has any mobile phone or dash cam footage from the area surrounding Paradise Road.’
Lathaniel is the latest young person to lose their life in a suspected act of gang violence in recent months.
In an unrelated incident in January, a 14-year-old boy was stabbed to death on a London bus in Woolwich.
Aspiring drill rapper Kelyan Bokassa had been groomed by gangs and exposed to drugs before his death, his mother said.
He was stabbed in front of horrified passengers on a route 472 bus in Woolwich at around 2.30pm in the afternoon.
In another unrelated tragedy last year, a 15-year-old boy was ‘assassinated’ during a ‘family fun day’ in west London amid a postcode war between rival gangs.
Rene Graham was gunned down in broad daylight while surrounded by parents and children at Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance open space – also known as ‘Teletubbies Park’ – in Ladbroke Grove at 7.20pm in the evening.
The shooting, which witnesses claimed was preceded by the perpetrators firing bullets into the air to clear the crowds of people, took place outside ‘Park Lime’, an annual pre-Notting Hill Carnival event featuring DJs and stalls.
Forensic teams were seen arriving at the station on Tuesday using torches to inspect the handrails and steps of the escalators.
Superintendent Gabriel Cameron, who is leading the local policing response, said: ‘This is an enormously shocking incident which I imagine will cause huge distress to the local community.
‘Our thoughts are with the young boy’s family at this devastating time.
‘Local officers are on the scene gathering CCTV and speaking to witnesses to piece together what has happened.
‘They will be supported by specialist homicide investigators shortly.
‘Please rest assured we will work around the clock to identify and find those responsible.’
Today relatives of the victim, who declined to give their names, described the teenager as a Manchester United fan who enjoyed playing Playstation 5, and had one sibling, a sister.
A resident, who said she knew the boy’s mother, said Lathaniel was ‘very bright at school’ and said his father worked at a nearby go-karting facility.
‘He is great at looking after this community,’ the woman, who asked not to be named, said.
Aftab Khan, 18, who runs a corner shop near to the road, said the teenager often came into the store and described him as a ‘nice kid’.
He told the Telegraph: ‘He would always say hello. I saw him yesterday – he bought a bottle of Fanta.
‘He would always pay me back if I let him have a drink for free if he didn’t have enough money. He was a good guy.
‘Now I can’t go outside – I’m scared. It’s a very bad area.’
A woman named Sandra, who lives nearby, told BBC London: ‘It’s very sad; we know the family.
‘The dad is very well known round here, who brought up our kids in youth clubs.
‘It is awful, really sad, and really horrible.’
A young woman who lives nearby said: ‘This area is not safe at night. There are a lot of teenage boys that cause a lot of trouble who live around here.
‘They hang around at night, play around with the cops. Things like playing with fireworks and running from the police. But it can get serious. Someone I know got stabbed some time last year.
‘I think about where the cameras are when I am walking at night, but there are no cameras in that area (of the shooting).
Speaking about the shooting, she said the attackers had ‘no shame as well, there is a primary school next door’.
An older resident who lives nearby said: ‘This area hasn’t been like this since the 80s.’
Adrian Lindo, 50, who lives nearby, said ‘I would have thought that the younger generation would have learnt about what has happened in this area in the past.
‘They have to learn from the previous generations. My commiserations to the family.’
The death was described as a ‘life wasted’ by Florence Eshalomi, the MP Vauxhall & Camberwell Green. She also said she was ‘very sad’ to hear of the fatal shooting.
A Lambeth Council statement said: ‘We’re devastated to hear that a teenage boy has been shot in Stockwell today.’
A Stockwell resident told MyLondon: ‘Stockwell has always crimes like phone theft, but overall it’s a friendly area. It’s shocked me to the core to think this could happen to a child here.
‘It’s terrible to think of what his family is going through. It’s so wrong that teenagers should worry about things like this when they should be enjoying their childhood.’
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: ‘My thoughts are with the family, friends and wider community in Stockwell following the shocking fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy.
‘This abhorrent violence has absolutely no place in our city.
‘I am in close contact with police leaders – an investigation is underway to find those responsible and local residents will see increased patrols in the local area.
‘I urge anyone with information to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. There is no honour in staying silent.’
A crime scene and cordon remains in place while emergency services continue their enquiries.
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: ‘We were called at 2.32pm today to reports of a shooting in Paradise Road, SW4.
‘We sent a number of resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, a paramedic in a fast response car, a paramedic from our tactical response unit and an incident response officer.
‘We also dispatched London’s Air Ambulance.
‘Very sadly, despite the best efforts of our crews, a person was pronounced dead at the scene.’