A girl of 17, chilling with pals, has her life cut short in a shooting... an hour later another teen is gunned down
Death toll in the capital hits 48 after two youngsters are slain
A “JOYFUL” teenage girl has been murdered in a drive-by shooting as she chatted with friends near her home.
Tanesha Melbourne, 17, was an innocent victim of a gangland feud, pals said.
About two miles away and less than an hour later, a 16-year-old boy was shot in the face in a car park. He died last night, becoming London’s 48th murder victim this year. A lad of 15 was found with stab wounds at the scene.
Tanesha, who worked with kids with learning difficulties in her role as a volunteer at a youth centre, was killed hours after it was revealed the capital’s murder rate has become worse than New York’s for the first time in modern history.
She died in the street, and was cradled in her mum’s arms before paramedics arrived on the scene in Tottenham, North London.
A woman who knew Tanesha said the victim was “just chilling with her friends” when she was shot from a car for “no reason at all”.
She said she heard the gunshots “like fireworks” from her house. The 21-year-old added: “I put her on her side and I was rubbing her back, saying ‘everything’s going to be OK’.
“Her mum didn’t deserve to watch her die. She was screaming. She didn’t know what to do.”
One of Tanesha’s friends called her “an innocent child caught up in a stupid postcode war”.
The dead girl’s mum Sharon wept yesterday as she and other relatives laid flowers at the scene. A note attached to a bouquet read: “To my baby Nesha, I’m gonna miss you so much. You’re always gonna be with me, everywhere I go, whatever. Love mummy.”
Another tribute said: “Tanesha, my sister. Words cannot explain the pain I’m in. I love you and will never forget you... Eloren xxx”.
CCTV footage from a shop shows Tanesha in a grey tracksuit as she walked along a pavement while chatting happily with three friends less than an hour before she was gunned down.
A car pulled up and a bullet was fired into her chest in Chalgrove Road at 9.35pm on Monday.
Her gran Kathleen Kingdom, 60, said she had been in the “wrong place at the wrong time”. The killer was last night still on the loose. Scotland Yard is investigating the possibility Tanesha’s murder was linked to a feud between gangs in Tottenham and nearby Wood Green.
Det Chief Supt Richard Wood, head of the Met’s murder squad, called it a “terrible attack”.
He added: “At this stage, we’re keeping a completely open mind.
“It’s too early to say what the motive is or indeed if it’s just a case of wrong place, wrong time.” Forensic officers were yesterday combing the scene for clues.
It appears at least two shots were fired, with one hitting Tanesha and another striking a house. A family friend, who arrived on the scene of “mayhem”, said medics “opened” the girl’s chest and fought for over an hour to save her.
School friend Candice Hassan, 17, called the victim “just a humble girl”.
Tanesha left Gladesmore Community School in Tottenham last year. Her former associate headteacher Goldwater Ojokor said: “She was a lovely, joyful, girl. She was bright and bubbly.
“She always had a smile on her face. You could not be annoyed with her. She had this wonderful smile and was never in any bad trouble.”
Tanesha’s aunt, Rita How, vowed: “We’re going to stop the shooting, we’re going to stop these stabbings. We’re going to bring this whole area to a standstill. My niece has gone now and my sister’s in turmoil. It’s terrible.”
The nearby fatal shooting of the 16-year-old boy was outside Walthamstow Leisure Centre.
Det Chief Insp Glenn Butler said: “I fully appreciate the alarm, shock and revulsion caused by this murder and other fatal shootings we have seen across London over the last few months.
“We are doing everything we can to identify the culprits and bring them to justice.
“We can’t do this alone. We need those within the community who have information about those involved to search their own conscience and call us with information.” The killing is
understood to be unrelated to Tanesha’s murder.
There were 15 murders in London in February compared with 14 in New York. In March, the figure for London was 23 and it was 21 in the Big Apple.
The cities both have around eightand-half million residents. New York City’s murder rate has decreased by around 87% since the 1990s.
But the number of murders in London appears to be on the rise, with 101 in 2016, 130 in 2017 and 48 so far in 2018.
A Home Office spokeswoman said: “This Government is taking action to restrict access to offensive weapons as well as working to break the deadly cycle of violence and protect our children, families and communities.”
She added: “The UK has some of the toughest gun laws in the world and we are determined to keep it that way.”
A 10-year-old boy has been left with a 3in-deep wound after a group of teenagers stabbed him with a screwdriver. Landen Holt was attacked outside his home in Portsmouth, Hants, after he refused to give up his football on Easter Sunday.
He said: “I thought they had punched me but they hadn’t, they stabbed me with a screwdriver.”
Landen was last night recovering from his injury at home. Police are probing the attack.
A boy of 13 accused of trying to stab a lad of 14 in Romford, East London, in February will stand trial in August. The alleged attacker, of Ladywell, South East London, denies attempted murder.