INNOCENT TEEN KILLED IN GANG SHOOT-OUT CROSSFIRE
A TEENAGE girl was shot dead “for no reason at all” in a fatal drive-by attack during a night of violence in London.
Tanesha Melbourne, 17, was with friends in Tottenham, north London, when she was murdered shortly before 9.30pm on Monday.
Neighbours suggested her death was a tragic result of a postcode war between rival gangs.
A woman who knew Tanesha said she was “just chilling with her friends” when she was shot from a car for “no reason at all”.
“The car just pulled up and started shooting,” said the 21-year-old, who did not want to be named, adding that she heard the gunshots “like fireworks” from her house.
“I put her on her side and I was just rubbing her back, saying, ‘Everything’s going to be OK’.
“I just can’t believe it – so young.”
She told how the girl’s mother arrived before paramedics, adding: “She was screaming. She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t deserve that. Her mum didn’t deserve to watch her die.”
The witness described the victim as a “good girl”, adding: “She was so lovely.”
Local rap star Wretch32 – real name Jermaine Scott Sinclair – was among those to pay tribute, tweeting: “Wish I knew what to say about what’s happening in my ends. North London we’re better then this man smh R.I.P to the young angel who lost her life last night. Love & prayers to the family. I’m lost for words.”
A friend of the murdered girl last night said: “Tanesha was a very known, very lovable little girl in the community, she was not involved in any sort of problems with anyone.
“I can’t believe she’s gone. She was just an innocent child caught up in this stupid postcode war.”
Violence
In a separate flurry of violence on Monday night, a 16-year-old boy was left in a critical condition after he was shot in Walthamstow.
Another boy, aged 15, was taken to hospital with stab injuries.
Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy said on her Facebook page the 16-year-old injured in Walthamstow had been shot in the face.
A section 60 order, which allows police to search members of the public without suspicion amid the risk of serious violence, has been put in place.
In a third incident, a 16-year-old boy was stabbed near St Leonard’s Street in Bow, east London, at around 6pm on Sunday. He was given first aid and is stable in hospital.
Four boys – two aged 16 and two aged 15 – have been charged with GBH and appeared at Stratford Youth Court yesterday.
So far this year, the Metropolitan Police have launched 47 murder inquiries, as gun-related crime went up by a fifth, year-on-year, to 6,694.