Update: Man dead after Streatham shooting

8:53am Monday 22nd October 2007

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Nine people have been arrested over the fatal shooting of a man in Streatham this morning.

Male and female suspects are currently being interviewed at several south London police stations.

Police were called to Streatham High Road at 5.20am after reports of shots being fired.

A 35-year-old man was taken to Mayday Hospital in Croydon at 5.40am suffering gunshot wounds and died a short time later at 6am.

A second man in his 30s was taken separately to a south London hospital suffering from gunshot wounds and is in a stable condition.

A gun abandoned at the scene has been recovered by police and is undergoing analysis.

Police know the identity of the dead man and have contacted his family. A post mortem will be held at Greenwich Mortuary tomorrow at 10am.

It is believed the shooting happened in the street in Streatham High Road, at the junction with Hopton Road.

Operation Trident officers say two or more vehicles were seen leaving the area.

DCI Steve Horsley said: "At this early stage, we are keeping an open mind as to the motive and we have no suspect descriptions or details of how many may have been involved.

"The venue of the shooting is very close to the ice rink but it was not open at the time and not involved in any way.

"There are two nightclubs in the vicinity of the ice rink and there could well have been people leaving them who may have seen something of the incident.

"It is a main thoroughfare in south London and it's possible there may have been people in the area - pedestrians, bus passengers or driving through, on their way to or from night work."

Streatham High Road was shut in both directions between Streatham railway station and Greyhound Lane causing traffic chaos during rush hour this morning.

It remains closed as police continue their investigation but the train station is open.

A Hopton Road resident said several shots were heard and people were seen scattering from the area.

"I feel quite shaken up by it," she said. "It's too close to home, especially as it happened so near the ice rink where James Smarrt-Ford was murdered in February.

"I keep walking around Streatham and seeing more yellow police boards giving details of serious incidents. In the last few months this seems to be happening more than normal.

"Things like this make me feel more uneasy about living in Streatham. There are lots of shootings going on around London, but what are police doing about them?"

Anyone with any information is asked to call the incident room on 020 8733 4648, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 to remain anonymous.