A 40-year-old man has been shot dead in East Acton, prompting the launch of a murder investigation after gunfire erupted near a memorial service attended by dozens of people, including children.
Update, 5.40pm: Police have confirmed that no arrests have been made as the murder investigation continues. A crime scene remains in place on Braybrook Street while detectives press on with their inquiries, and a post-mortem examination is due to be carried out to confirm the cause of death.
Police were called at 7.47pm on Friday, October 2, after members of the public reported hearing multiple shots at the junction of Braybrook Street and Erconwald Street. Officers attended alongside the London Ambulance Service, who treated the man at the scene. Despite their best efforts, he was pronounced dead there. The Metropolitan Police say he is believed to have sustained a gunshot wound, although a post-mortem examination will be carried out to formally establish the cause of death.
Detective Chief Inspector Brian Howie, who is leading the investigation, said: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of a man whose life was taken in a senseless act of violence. We understand a large number of people had gathered for a memorial service and what should have been a time to come together in remembrance has instead left a family devastated.”
“We believe between 40 and 50 people, including children, were present when this incident occurred,” DCI Howie added. “Someone knows what happened and we need them to come forward.”
Earlier today, a large police cordon remained in place around the scene. Police tape stretched across the residential street and pavements, with uniformed officers standing guard. Several police vehicles were parked inside the restricted area while forensic officers worked in the middle of the road. A crime scene remains in place on Braybrook Street.
Cordons like this are a familiar sight in the first hours of a murder inquiry. Inside the tape, forensic teams methodically photograph the scene, recover anything that might carry DNA or fingerprints, and map the positions of vehicles, casings and other debris. The cordon stays up for as long as detectives need the ground undisturbed — sometimes well into the following day — and its size reflects how far officers believe those involved may have moved on foot.
The man’s family has been informed and is being supported by specialist officers. Police say no arrests have been made at this early stage, but detectives are working at pace to establish the full circumstances of what happened.
That no one has been arrested yet is not unusual. In the opening phase of a homicide investigation, detectives prioritise securing the scene, identifying the victim and tracing witnesses, before making arrests. Evidence gathered by forensics teams is sent for fast-track analysis, officers go door to door, and CCTV footage from the surrounding streets is pulled in. Only when the Crown Prosecution Service is satisfied there is a realistic prospect of conviction will charges follow — a process that can take weeks or months, as seen in a separate investigation into a fatal shooting in Newham, where further charges came later.
Detectives have issued a direct appeal to anyone who was in the area on Friday evening. “If you were around Erconwald Street, Braybrook Street, the surrounding roads or Wormwood Scrubs playground between 18:00hrs and 20:00hrs, please think carefully about what you saw,” DCI Howie said. “Did you see anyone carrying or concealing weapons, people on bicycles acting suspiciously, or vehicles being driven at speed?”
“We also want to hear from anyone with photographs, video, dashcam, doorbell or mobile phone footage or who has seen anything relevant on social media. However insignificant it may seem, the smallest piece of information could prove crucial in helping us establish what happened and identify those responsible.”
The two-hour window is deliberate. Detectives will be trying to reconstruct the movements of everyone near the junction in the hour before the shooting and the minutes afterwards, when those involved may have fled on foot, by bicycle or in a waiting vehicle. Doorbell cameras, dashcams and mobile phone clips time-stamped between 6pm and 8pm could place key figures at the scene. Public appeals for footage have proved important in other recent cases, including a witness appeal over a fatal collision in Southall.
Anyone with information is urged to call 101, quoting CAD 7011/2Oct, or to upload footage and photographs directly to the police major incident portal. Information can also be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
For the community, the shock is compounded by the setting. Between 40 and 50 people — including children — had gathered for a memorial service, an occasion meant for quiet remembrance. Instead, families who had come together to grieve one loss have been confronted with another. Specialist officers will remain in contact with those who were present, and police have acknowledged the distress caused to witnesses, particularly the young ones among them.
Those ultimately convicted of murder face the longest sentences available to the courts, as in the case of Richard Clayton, jailed for life over the murder of a Newham mother. But first, detectives must identify who pulled the trigger on Braybrook Street — and for that, they are relying on the public. “Someone knows what happened,” DCI Howie said, “and we need them to come forward.”
