First picture of dead teen Amaan Shakoor who was shot in face ‘during gang war’ to become London’s 49th murder victim this year
THE teen boy shot in the face in a suspected gang war was killed in a case of mistaken identity, friends have said.
The 16-year-old, named locally as Amaan Shakoor, died on Wednesday night after being shot in Walthamstow, East London, on Tuesday night - becoming the 49th person to be murdered in London this year.
Amaan was gunned down at around 10pm Tuesday - just minutes after 17-year-old Tanesha Melbourne was shot dead in Tottenham, North London.
Speaking near the scene of the shooting at Walthamstow Leisure Centre, a man who gave his name only as Osman, 32, said of Amaan Shakoor: "He was just a good lad. He wasn't involved in gangs or drugs or anything like that.
"It was a case of mistaken identity. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. There are gang wars going on and this young lad has just unfortunately got caught up in it."
He said that the young man had been in his last year at school, studying for his GCSEs, adding; "He had his whole future ahead of him.";
Amaan's dad, Mohammed Shakoor, paid tribute to the teen from his London home, saying: "He was a wonderful son.
"We need to come to terms with this, we are obviously devastated."
Another boy, 15-year-old Mohammed Asghar, is still recovering from being stabbed in the attack on Tuesday night.
Mohammed's father Ali Asghar, 42, said his son was still struggling to come to terms with what happened on the tragic night that claimed his friend's life.
He said: "There were four of them standing around outside the leisure centre and two people came up and attacked them out of nowhere.
"The first gun shot missed Amaan and they fired again and hit him in the left eye.
"They then stabbed Mohammed in his right arm, the wound was two inches deep.
"They had parked a car outside the gate as they were locked and it was quite dark.
"As they came closer they said nothing, they were wearing balaclavas and Mohammed could not see what they looked like at all, not even if they were black or white, they just came and started shooting, it happened out of nowhere."
Other friends have said how they did not believe that the pair were the intended targets of the attack.
London has been rocked by the number of horrific fatal attacks in the past month
Another witness claimed that hooded thugs who shot Amaan had warned him off their “patch”.
He said: "I saw two boys, hooded up, run past me - they didn't see me so I walked over [to the victims].
"They must have run up to them, stabbed one in the arm and just shot the other in the face, then run off.
"I was helping the one who got stabbed because there was nothing I could do for the one who got shot.
"The stab victim was in shock because he saw his friend get shot in the face."
He added: “It's like turf wars. Certain areas are controlled by certain groups and if you sell in an area that you shouldn’t, people get upset. They are just little hood-rats.”
Dozens of people laid floral tributes outside Walthamstow leisure centre today following the passing of Amaan.
Cops were also pictured searching some of the young men who attended the scene of the killing.
Yesterday, forensics officers set up two tents in the car park of Walthamstow Leisure Centre and combed the grounds for clues.
A black bicycle was seen being removed in an evidence bag.
Shirley Chase, 78, who lives a few doors away from Amaan's family in Walthamstow, said he knew the youngster who was "very pleasant".
He said: "I have been to see the family. They are very, very sad. He is only 16. I would see him walking up and down the street. I have been seeing him since he was a kid.
"It is just such a waste of life. I have been here since 1969 and the violence has got worse."
The Homicide and Major Crime Command are now investigating alongside colleagues from the Trident and Area Crime Command.
No arrests have been made and a post mortem will be carried out in due course.
The teen's murder makes him the 49th person to be killed in London this year as the capital overtook the murder rate in New York for the first time.
A/DCI Glenn Butler from the Trident and Area Crime Command said: "I fully appreciate the alarm, shock and revulsion caused by this murder and other fatal shootings we have seen across London over the last few months.
"We are doing everything we can to identify the culprits and bring them to justice. We can't do this alone. We need those within the community who have information about those involved to search their own conscience and call us with information.
"Detail forensic testing including ballistic analysis and the recovery of local CCTV footage is in hand and my officers will be knocking on doors."
Tragic Tanesha was killed last night in a in a drive-by shooting in Tottenham after posting a haunting final Snapchat video.
Eight murder investigations were launched in London in January, 15 in February and 22 in March.
The Met police are under increasing pressure to put an end to the bloodshed.
Anyone with information should contact police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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