A triple shooting outside a church has left one woman dead and a man fighting for his life.
Neighbours in Brent, north-west London, said it “sounded like fireworks”, describing people left “crying and screaming” in the street after the fatal attack outside the River of Life Elim Pentecostal Church.
The woman, who was a mum, has been described as a “brilliant” person by a friend who paid tribute, saying: “She was a light in all of our lives. She adored her children and worked hard to give them a happy life.”
The pal told The Sun: “She didn’t deserve this. No one does.”
Scotland Yard was called at about 9.15pm on Saturday (December 14) to Gifford Road where a woman, who is believed to have been in her 40s, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Two men, both in their 30s, were also injured, according to the police. One is in hospital in a critical condition while the second man’s injuries are non-life threatening, according to the Metropolitan Police.
Church pastor, Lawrence Larbie, said the injured were attending the wake of an elderly member of the church.
He said: “There was chaos and pandemonium. The meeting came to an abrupt end. People knew the persons who had been shot.”
A woman who lives in the road said her daughter had come through the door just 10 minutes before the shooting. She added the female victim did not live in the area.
She said: “My daughter came though the door 10 minutes before it happened. My son thought there were fireworks, then I heard my neighbour screaming and I realised there was a shooting.
“It’s crazy. It’s sad. It’s scary. It does not feel safe. I’ve lived here since 2008 and I’ve never heard anything like this before.”
A neighbour who lives in the road and did not want to be named said: “We heard the shooting sound and we thought it was fireworks, we didn’t expect there would be a gun here.
“People came out of the church, they were at a wake and they saw the bodies on the ground. I heard a lot of crying and screaming.”
Another neighbour, who also asked not to be named, said they heard five gun shots in quick succession.
A cordon was in place at the corner of Gifford Road and Creukhorne Road on Sunday morning with uniformed police and forensic officers posted at the scene.
Supt Tony Josephs, from the North West Command Unit which covers Brent, said: “This is a truly shocking incident and I understand the concern this will cause the local community and those across London.
“I want to reassure people that a team of experienced detectives are already working at pace to piece together the events of last night and identify whoever was responsible for this heinous act of violence.
“If you were in or around Gifford Close at the time of the shooting, or have any information about who was responsible, please get in contact with us. A family has been left devastated and we need to work together to provide them with answers.”
No arrests have been made and inquiries continue.
