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Teens are shot by masked gunmen
Youngsters suffer leg wounds and man is found shot as attacks spark summer violence fears
TWO boys aged 16 and 17 were shot and a third was struck with a handgun when a gang of masked men walked on to a Kilburn housing estate and opened fire on Tuesday evening.
The teenagers were treated for gunshot wounds to their legs after the attack in Ainsworth Way, near Boundary Road, at 9pm.
In a separate incident, a 21-year-old was found shot, also in the legs, in Gillies Street, Gospel Oak, in the early hours of Monday morning.
Despite widespread talk of gang involvement in the estates where the attacks took place, police were yesterday (Wednesday) refusing to comment on the motives for the shootings, but pledged to increase patrols in a bid to smother a summer of serious youth violence.
The very public shooting on Tuesday, close to the doorway of Fielding House and in the last of the evening light, left residents shocked – and unwilling to be named.
“This is the sort of thing you see on TV, not outside your front door,” said one man. “There has been trouble with kids round here, but never anything like this and it shows what happens if you let things get out of hand.”
At Camden police headquarters yesterday (Wednesday), Chief Inspector Louis Smith played down links to a surge in teenage robberies in the Swiss Cottage and West Hampstead areas in recent weeks.
He said: “We have had additional resources in the Rowley Way area because of serious youth violence issues around after-school robberies on teenagers and late-night assaults.
“There is no direct link between that activity and this shooting, but we are keeping an open mind as to motive and asking people to tell us what they have heard.”
Police patrols were busy leafleting and providing reassurance after the attack, said Chief Insp Smith, adding: “This is not just reassurance, we have plans in place to deal with any further incidents and there is a world of difference between reassurance and taking direct action.”
Reports of Tuesday’s shooting suggested that one of the gunmen may have asked “Who is ASA?”, before three shots were fired from a revolver.
Chief Insp Smith would not comment on that, but police intelligence reports from January list three gangs known to operate in the area, the ASA, the RBC and Sin City, with the latter suspected of dealing drugs in Swiss Cottage.
Senior police officers always stress that these gangs may range in scale from a serious criminal enterprise to just a group of local friends.
The number of crimes committed in Camden in which a gun was involved has increased sharply in the past year, although it remains low by London-wide standards. There were 71 gun-enabled crimes in the 12 months up to May 2009, compared to 55 in the previous year. |
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Your comments:
You say rowley way has seriours youth issues and robberies and late night assaults please wake up and smell the coffee i have lived here from 1978 and my kids i have never seen any thing bad happen one person was killed and did this person live here no they didnt it is like that where ever you live so come and live on rowley way and see for your self and stop putting it down.
A. Moran
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