Clapham shooting – live: Suspects still at large and identities unknown after three injured
Shotgun believed to have discharged accidentally as suspect fled police chase
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Detectives are still urgently trying to identify the suspects involved in an incident in Clapham which left two people with shotgun pellet injuries after a police chase in south London.
Officers were pursuing two people on a moped which failed to stop in Clapham on Friday evening when the bike collided with a member of the public and crashed shortly afterwards, the Metropolitan Police said.
“Officers have established that one of the suspects was in possession of a shotgun which was discharged as it struck the ground having been dropped while the suspects fled on foot,” Scotland Yard said in an update on Saturday afternoon.
Two women in the street, aged 27 and 36 years, sustained shotgun pellet injuries. They were not deliberately targeted, police said. All three victims have now been released from hospital.
Police had swarmed the high street and a witness told The Independent a gun was recovered by officers at the scene.
DCI Gemma Alger said: “Our investigation to identify the two people responsible is at an early stage, but we will be relentless in following up every line of enquiry to arrest them.”
Moped is not taxed
The abandoned scooter is untaxed, official registration records show.
Moped still left in street
A moped could be seen left on the pavement on Clapham Common South Side.
Moped riders fell off, says witness
A witness wrote on social media that the moped riders had fallen off it before shooting.
“I saw it all firsthand. Two guys on motorbike fell off on corner between Tube station n Sainsburys after chase from police officers. They ran down towards Brixton and pulled out a shotgun and shot a girl crossing the street in the leg,” she wrote.
Moped rider failed to stop, say police
Officers had been chasing the moped whose rider fired shots after it failed to stop in the Clapham area, police have revealed.
They cordoned off roads as they tried to trace the rider.
More pictures from the scene of Clapham Common shooting
First pictures of overturned bike used by suspects to flee police
‘It could have hit any of us’
Sian Cole said she was nearly struck by the motorbike as it careered onto the pavement with police in pursuit as she got off at Clapham Common Tube station.
She told The Independent: “It was very scary due to it being rush hour and there were so many people present at the scene.
“I was walking and the motorbike just crashed right in front of me.
“And then I saw them get up and run. Only then did I realise the police cars because I had my Airpods in.
“So I stopped the music and then heard the shot. It could’ve hit any of us.
“It hit a woman in the leg. They were aiming it back behind them.”
Pub window appears to be shot in Clapham Common
The window of the Belle Vue pub in Clapham Common appears to have been shattered in the rush hour shooting.
Witness to the aftermath of the shotgun attack which saw three injured Christopher Peters told The Independent: “I saw well over 10 stationary police cars blocking the crossroad.
“There was police tape, ambulances, a helicopter overhead, more police cars arriving at high speed from the Clapham North and Clapham junction directions.
“Then I could see what looked like a motorbike on its side. And what looked like a bullet hole in the window of the pub on that crossroads.”
Three people injured say London Ambulance Service
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said three people were injured, with two taken to a major trauma centre.
He said: “We were called today at 4.59pm to reports of an incident in Clapham Common South Side.
“We sent a number of resources including ambulance crews, operational managers, advanced paramedics and London’s air ambulance.
“We treated three people at the scene and took two to a London major trauma centre and one to hospital.”