A man is fighting for his life after a suspected double shooting in broad daylight left another with possible life-changing injuries.
Two men were gunned down in Forest Gate, east London, at about 3.10pm today.
Both of them were taken to hospital, one with life-threatening injuries after the incident in the London borough of Newham.
Police are searching for a suspect in an alleged double shooting in Newham, east London
Police were called to Moore Walk in Forest Gate, east London, after a suspected double shooting left one man fighting for his life and another with potentially life-changing injuries
James Beckles, who lives close to the crime scene, Tweeted that one victim was shot in the head and the other in the leg as he shared a photo of police stationed at the scene.
Nobody has yet been arrested over the shooting, which Chief Superintendent Ade Adelekan said was part of a wider problem for the borough.
‘Sadly today two young men have been shot on our streets, one of whom remains critically ill in hospital.
Officers say firearms incidents are blighting communities in the London borough of Newham
‘We are only too well aware that this incident comes after a number of shootings and firearms discharges that are blighting our communities and seriously injuring our young men.
‘Tonight there will be extra officers on duty throughout our borough, and due to my serious concerns that others may retaliate in response to today’s incident I will be authorising my officers to use stop and search throughout the borough under Section 60.
‘Proactive work will continue with our borough teams and specialist units such as Trident Area and Crime Command to investigate and catch the people responsible for these offences.
Mr Beckles, who lives close to the scene, Tweeted saying one of the men was shot in the head
Police have put a cordon in place after one man was left in critical condition after being shot
‘Violence has no place on our streets, and we have already made four arrests in connection with recent firearms offences.
‘I want the community of Newham to help us tackle this – if you have any information about people carrying or supplying firearms please let us know and we will take action.’
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said paramedics treated the victims at the scene before they were rushed to hospital.
‘We sent two ambulance crews, an advanced paramedic and an incident response officer to the scene.
‘We also dispatched our Physician Response Unit which consists of a paramedic and a doctor.
‘We treated patients at the scene and took them to a major trauma centre as a priority.’
Any witnesses or anyone with any information is asked to call Newham Police on 101.