London gun culture claims latest victim
An investigation into the murder has begun
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Saturday, 17, Feb 2007 07:50
A man in his mid-20s has died after sustaining fatal gunshot wounds in Hackney, east London, just days after police pledged to crack down on the capital's emergent gun culture.
The as yet unnamed man's death comes after a series of fatal shootings in south London during the last fortnight.
High-visibility armed police had been patrolling the streets of Lambeth and Southwark as part of the Metropolitan police's Operation Neon.
Officers were responding to reports of a shooting in Hackney when they discovered the man suffering from gunshot wounds, slumped in a Fiat Punto in Homerton High Street in the early hours of this morning.
He was later pronounced dead at Homerton hospital. Two black men were seen fleeing the scene of the crime but no arrests have been made.
Speaking yesterday Tony Blair played down allegations that gun crime in Britain was threatening to spiral out of control, despite the murders of three teenage boys in the last two weeks.
The prime minister claimed that the deaths of Billy Cox and Michael Dosunmu, both 15, and 16-year-old James Andre Smartt-Ford were "not a metaphor for the state of British society".
Conservative leader David Cameron however said that social responsibility in the UK was "broken".
The Metropolitan police reacted to the murder of Billy on Wednesday by agreeing to set up a new taskforce to investigate the prevalence of guns on London's streets, with high-visibility armed police patrols part of the initiative.
Billy was found dead by his younger sister at their home near Clapham North tube station. His father Tommy Cox has since said that local residents need to "get behind the police 100 per cent" to prevent further tragedies.
On February 6th churchgoing Michael was shot in his bedroom in Peckham.
And three days previously, James Andre was shot and killed in front of shocked onlookers at a busy ice rink in Streatham.
But speaking at a political event in Scotland the prime minister said: "This tragedy is not a metaphor for the state of British society, still less for the state of British youth today, the huge majority of whom, including in this part of London, are responsible, law-abiding people."
Mr Blair went on to say that the deaths were "horrific, shocking and tragic beyond belief".
Speaking earlier as he unveiled plans for two new prisons, home secretary John Reid set the tone for the prime minister's remarks.
"These are terrible, awful, tragic crimes and no one must look for any excuses. We have to use a whole array of methods to tackle it, from police and prisons right through to demanding family responsibility," he said.
The home secretary also met with Cressida Dick, the commander of Scotland Yard's specialist crime directorate, and other senior officers, as well as local MPs, to discuss what action should be taken to remove guns from the streets of south London.