Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

‘Very busy’ party at flats on morning of shooting, say locals

Police were called just after 10am on Sunday to reports of a shooting in Sydenham, south-east London.

Harry Stedman
Monday 11 November 2024 14:41 GMT
Wells Park Road remained closed off by a police cordon on Monday (Aaron Chown/PA)
Wells Park Road remained closed off by a police cordon on Monday (Aaron Chown/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A “very busy” flat party carried on until the morning of a shooting that left one man dead and two others injured in south-east London, local residents have said.

Police were called just after 10am on Sunday to reports of a shooting in the area of Wells Park Road, Sydenham.

A man with gunshot injuries died at the scene, while a woman with gunshot wounds to her legs was taken to hospital with injuries not said to be life-threatening.

I didn't wake up properly until about 7am. I took my dog, fed her, walked her after that, and the party was still going on

Sabrina Charles

A third person attended hospital with what are believed to be gunshot injuries and their condition is unknown, the Metropolitan Police said.

The eastern end of Wells Park Road remained closed off by a police cordon on Monday, with further police tape surrounding a block of flats in Hensford Gardens.

Sabrina Charles, 42, who lives in a flat in Mill Gardens, opposite the cordon, told the PA news agency she was woken in the early hours of Sunday by noise coming from flats in Hensford Gardens.

She said: “I didn’t hear the music until after 11pm, and it went on until around 5am.

“I didn’t wake up properly until about 7am. I took my dog, fed her, walked her after that, and the party was still going on.”

Ms Charles said she saw people arriving in cars and going in and out of several of the flats.

She added: “[It was] very busy. It didn’t bother me because I thought it was a birthday party or christening, so I didn’t take any notice until my friend told me there was a shooting.”

We are determined to safeguard the community, to get to the bottom of what happened here and bring those responsible to justice

Commander Peter Stevens

Another resident living within the cordon, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I came out at 10 o’clock yesterday and there was a lot of screaming and shouting.

“I caught the bus so I must’ve just missed it.”

Commander Peter Stevens described the incident as a “senseless act of violence” and said the police cordons were likely to remain in place for some time.

He said: “I share their concerns and can assure the local community that the Met’s response, alongside our partners, has been rapid.

“We are determined to safeguard the community, to get to the bottom of what happened here and bring those responsible to justice.”

No arrests have been made and the Met has appealed for witnesses.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101, message on X to @MetCC with reference number 2527/10nov, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in