Boy, 15, shot dead during ‘family fun day’ at busy London park

A 15-year-old boy has been shot dead during a ‘family fun day’ at a park in Notting Hill.

Emergency services responded to reports of a shooting at Hornimans Park, also known as ‘Teletubbies park’, at around 7:20pm on Sunday.

The boy had been fatally wounded and succumbed to his injuries at the scene. Officers are seeking to identify the boys and inform his family.

A security officer at the scene of the crime said: ‘A teenager was assassinated. I was right there. People were rushing and everyone was screaming. They were rushing through the barrier. There were two gunshots.

‘We had booked the street that’s cordoned off for a film shoot tomorrow. I don’t know if that’s going to happen now.’

Another security officer added: ‘There’s loads of guns around here. It’s the area. It’s a dodgy area. Everyone around here has got something. Carnival is coming next month. People start hurting themselves for no reason. It’s sad.’ 

Dozens of residents have been prevented from accessing their cars. One told the Mail: ‘We can’t access our vehicles. We’re just waiting. We’ve not been given much information. We’ve been waiting a couple of hours.’ 

Six people have been arrested in connection with the murder and remain in police custody.

MyLondon reported that an eyewitness posted on Twitter: ‘Nothing gets ur heart racing more than being out at an event wid ur kids and shots start beating… da fear dat brings is unreal…having a convo about it coz ur child is talking bout it also isn’t comfortable either.’

Replying to someone who asked for more information, he added: ‘Bro kmt it was some kids/family event in a park I think Dey do it every year…was out there wid da kids and Yh someone got shot dead in deh.’

On Facebook, someone claimed to have seen the gunman start firing after emerging from some nearby bushes, while another said: ‘Ran for my life. I was there and heard three gunshots. Didn’t wait to see who, I ran for my life. This is so sad. The park was full of families having fun.’

In a statement the Met said: ‘Police were called at approximately 19:20hrs on Sunday, 21 July to reports of a shooting in a park near Hazlewood Crescent, W10.

‘Officers, London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance all attended the scene.

‘A teenager, believed aged 15, was found suffering injuries. Despite the best efforts of the emergency services he was pronounced dead at the scene.

‘Work is ongoing to identify and inform his next of kin.’

The force said that there were no reports of anyone else being injured, adding: ‘Six males have been arrested on suspicion of murder and remain in custody.’

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: ‘We were called at 7.19pm this evening (21 July) to reports of a shooting in a park off Hazlewood Crescent, Ladbroke Grove.

‘We sent a number of resources including ambulance crews, paramedics in fast response cars and an incident response officer. We also dispatched London’s Air Ambulance.

‘Sadly a man died at the scene despite the best efforts of our crews to save his life.’

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