London shootings: Teenage boy dies in hospital day after gun attack in Walthamstow
16-year-old boy gunned down minutes after 17-year-old girl shot dead in night of violence
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A 16-year-old boy has died in hospital after being shot in north-east London, taking the number of murders in the capital this year to 48.
The teenager had been fighting for life after he was gunned down in Markhouse Road, Walthamstow, on Monday night.
He was attacked just 30 minutes after a 17-year-old girl was killed in an unconnected drive-by shooting about three miles away in Tottenham, north London.
The Walthamstow shooting victim died at 5.45pm on Tuesday with his family at his hospital bedside, the Metropolitan Police said.
He had been shot in the face in a “horrific and distressing” attack outside a leisure centre, according to local MP Stella Creasy.
Police who responded to the shooting also found a 15-year-old boy suffering stab injuries. He was taken to hospital but has seen been discharged.
Metropolitan Police murder and gang crime detectives have launched an investigation but no arrests have been made.
Acting detective chief inspector 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.
“Detail forensic testing including ballistic analysis and the recovery of local CCTV footage is in hand and my officers will be knocking on doors.”
The boy’s death came as tributes were paid to 17-year-old Tanesha Melbourne, who shot dead in Chalgrove Road, Tottenham, at 9.30pm on Monday.
Neighbours and friends described her as “a good girl” and “lovely” member of the community who is thought to have been caught by chance in the middle of a “postcode war” between rival gangs.
Schoolfriend Candice Hassan, 17, said Tanesha was “in the wrong place at the wrong time”.
“Everyone knows Tanesha, she’s just a humble girl,” she added. ”She didn’t deserve any of that.”
The two killings came amid growing concerns about knife and gun crime and youth violence in the capital.
So far this year, the Metropolitan Police have launched 48 murder investigations – eight in January, 15 in February, 22 in March, and three in April.
In the whole of last year, there were 130 murders in London.
Fatal stabbings have taken place almost every three days in the capital this year amid fears of the resurgence of gang warfare.