A firearms investigation is under way in north London after shots were reportedly fired in broad daylight on one of Harringay’s busiest streets.
Police were called to the area around Pemberton Road and Green Lanes at around 11am on Tuesday 29 September, following reports of gunfire. Officers who attended the scene recovered a number of spent bullet casings.
No injuries have been reported, police said.
A crime scene remains in place while specialist officers continue their investigation. The inquiry is being led by the Metropolitan Police’s Trident team, supported by local detectives and neighbourhood officers.
In a statement, the Met said: “We are investigating a firearms incident that occurred at approximately 11:00am on Tuesday 29 September in the vicinity of Pemberton Road and Green Lanes. Officers attended after reports of shots being fired and recovered a number of spent bullet casings. It is believed that two males were involved in the incident and enquiries are ongoing to identify and locate those responsible.”
No arrests have been made. Police say that at this stage there is no information to suggest any wider risk to the community.
Busy high street at the centre of the probe
Green Lanes is one of north London’s best-known high streets, a long commercial strip running through Harringay lined with independent shops, cafes and restaurants. The junction with Pemberton Road sits close to Harringay Green Lanes station, and the area is typically busy through the morning with shoppers, delivery drivers and commuters.
An incident at around 11am falls squarely in the middle of the trading day — after the school run, but while the high street is fully open. That timing is one reason detectives are likely to have a wide pool of potential witnesses: anyone who was on Green Lanes late on Tuesday morning, whether shopping, working or passing through, could hold information that helps the investigation.
Residents and business owners in the immediate area can expect to see an ongoing police presence while the crime scene is in place. The Met has moved to reassure the wider community, saying there is currently nothing to suggest a broader risk beyond this single incident.
How a Met firearms investigation unfolds
Firearms incidents in London are routinely handled by Trident, the Met’s specialist command for investigating gun crime, working alongside borough-based detectives and neighbourhood teams — the same structure now in place in Harringay.
The early stages of such an inquiry follow a familiar pattern. The recovered bullet casings will be sent for forensic examination, which can link ammunition to a specific weapon and, in some cases, to other incidents. Officers will trawl CCTV from shops and homes along the street, and the public appeal for dashcam and doorbell footage reflects how heavily modern investigations rely on cameras that happened to be pointing the right way.
Detectives will also be building a picture of the two men believed to have been involved — how they arrived and left, whether they were on foot or in a vehicle, and whether the shooting was targeted or opportunistic. House-to-house inquiries in the streets around Pemberton Road are standard practice in the first 48 hours.
Cases of this kind can move quickly or take weeks. What matters most in the early phase is information from the public, which is why the Met has issued a direct appeal rather than waiting for forensics to run their course. Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101, quoting the reference CAD 2582/29SEP26. Those with CCTV, dashcam or doorbell footage from the area around 11am on Tuesday are asked to come forward.
Gun crime in the capital
London has seen a string of firearms-related incidents investigated by the Met in recent months. In Feltham, two men were charged after a gun was allegedly seized following a police chase that ended in a crash, while a Hackney gang leader was jailed for life for orchestrating a restaurant shooting.
Each case is treated on its own facts, and in Harringay the investigation is still at an early stage. The key questions — who fired the shots, at whom, and why — remain unanswered. For now, the Met’s message to the community is twofold: there is no wider risk, but anyone who saw or heard anything on Green Lanes on Tuesday morning should get in touch.
Enquiries remain ongoing.
