Boy, 13, shot in head in drugs deal crossfire
A 13-year-old boy shot in the head on a busy London street as he walked home from a wedding with his parents was an innocent victim in the crossfire of a drugs deal that had gone wrong. The youngster had been attending a wedding when he was hit by a stray shotgun pellet. Police believe a 15-year-old youth also shot in the head was the gunman’s intended target. It was one of a spate of gun and knife incidents over the bank holiday weekend, including two fatalities.
AN INNOCENT 13-year-old boy was shot in the head after being caught in the crossfire of a suspected drug deal that went wrong during a bank holiday weekend of violence in London.
The youngster had been attending a wedding with his parents in Wealdstone and was walking along the High Road on Sunday afternoon when he was hit by a stray shotgun pellet.
Police investigating the shooting – one of a spate of gun and knife incidents over the weekend – described it as a “callous, reckless and brazen act”.
A 15-year-old thought to have been the gunman’s target was also wounded in the head, but his condition is not thought to be life-threatening. Local residents helped treat the 13-year-old until police and paramedics arrived.
One resident said he had heard the shooting had been the result of a drug deal gone wrong.
Det Ch Supt Simon Rose said: “It would appear that the first victim was approached by two male suspects, one in possession of a shotgun, and shots were fired injuring him and an entirely innocent member of the public.
“This was a callous, reckless and brazen act, without any thought by those responsible for the fact there were families with children and people in the high street enjoying their weekend.”
The incident was one of four shootings in London during the bank holiday weekend, which left one male dead and at least four injured.
On Saturday, Rhyiem Ainsworth Barton, 17, a rapper and aspiring architect, was killed in what is thought to have been a drive-by shooting near his home in Kennington, south London. It took the number of people murdered in the capital this year to 62.
Pretana Morgan, 38, his mother, wept as she called for an end to the violence. She said: “Let my son be the last and be an example to everyone. Just let it stop. What must be, must be.”
On Sunday evening, a 22-year-old man was shot and wounded in New Cross in south-east London by two suspects riding a moped. His condition is not thought to be life-threatening.
Yesterday afternoon, a 30-year-old man – who may have been working as a delivery driver – was also gunned down in New Cross, Scotland Yard said. His condition is also not believed to be critical.
Shortly after 9pm on Sunday, a 43-year-old man was stabbed in Perivale, west London, following a dispute with a motorist on a quiet street.
Elsewhere, three men aged 22, 27 and 17 were left with life-changing injuries after being targeted in a suspected acid attack just after 5am on Sunday in Dalston, east London.
In Liverpool city centre, Fatah Warsame, 20, from Cardiff, died after being stabbed in the chest early on Sunday.
In his first week as Home Secretary, Sajid Javid received plenty of advice from those who see him as a potential ally. As the first ethnic minority occupant of the post, he is regarded as potentially more liberal on immigration policy by campaigners who would like to water down the tougher approach adopted by Theresa May. They believe Mr Javid has the credentials to adopt a softer line. But this would be a mistake given the importance of the issue to most voters, who want a fair immigration system but a firm one on dealing with illegal overstayers.
Mr Javid is also being recruited to the colours by Brexiteers who hope that he will stiffen Mrs May’s resolve to face down Remainers in the fight over staying in a customs union with the EU. He is regarded by free-marketeers as an arch-thatcherite who can be relied upon to counter any interventionist tendencies apparent in Number 10.
But as Home Secretary, Mr Javid will be judged by the public primarily on his record in dealing with crime. That has always been the main focus of the job, even when the old, unwieldy Home Department included prisons, the BBC and charities within its remit. Over the years it has been pared back to resemble a European-style interior ministry responsible for policing, security and borders.
To most people, the department’s principal tasks remain ensuring the safety of citizens and order on the streets. While the police are the operational arm of this function, the Home Office – together with local crime commissioners – provides policy oversight and direction in England and Wales. As past home secretaries have discovered, they lose a grip on crime at their peril. The continued spate of violent deaths of young people in London and other major cities is indicative of a loss of control.
Partly this is to do with the conflicting messages the police receive from politicians. On the one hand they are told public safety is paramount, but on the other they are castigated for the use of stop and search powers.
Restricting these has been a mistake. Cressida Dick, the Met commissioner, has said the fall in stop and search has contributed to the rise in fatalities. She wants to increase the practice, yet the police evidently still feel constrained from doing so. Mr Javid needs to make it clear that, of all the issues he faces, regaining control of the streets is his top priority.