A 13-year-old boy was one of two people shot in Hackney late on Saturday evening (May 14).
Firearms officers were called to Stellman Close, Stoke Newington, at around 11pm.
The young boy was rushed to an unnamed east London hospital with a gunshot injury to the leg. His injuries are not thought to be life threatening and he remains in hospital.
Police were made aware at approximately 11.30pm the same evening of a 20-year-old man who had taken himself to an east London hospital, also unnamed by police, with a gunshot injury to the shoulder.
He also remains in hospital but his injuries are not life-threatening.
Hackney police have cordoned off the area and continue to patrol and reassure the community.
A police spokesperson said: “Detectives from Trident and Crime Command are investigating. No arrests have been made and enquiries continue. Cordons are in place.”
The emergency services’ Joint Response Units tweeted:
Another quick response with @MPSHackney to a firearms call. Pt treated for gunshot wounds. A&E as a priority pic.twitter.com/dduWWIqLax
— Joint Response Units (@LAS_JRU) May 15, 2016
In the past week there have been several shootings across east London, including a drive-by in Lewisham in which a 22-year-old man and 18-year-old woman were rushed to hospital with gunshot injuries.
A man in his 20’s was also fatally shot in Leyton, and there were two more attacks in Brixton. Two men, 21 and 22 were the victims of a double shooting in Forest Gate on May 12.
The Office for National Statistics released data last year revealing how crime involving firearms had increased by 4 per cent since September 2014.
Words 4 Weapons, the organisation founded to counteract knife and gun crime tweeted on May 15:
More trouble on East London Streets.can someone please fund our anti knife & gun crime education workshops! https://t.co/HDfWNOikj4
— Word 4 Weapons (@word4weapons) 15 May 2016
The police added: “The Met is committed to tackling violent crime, including knife and gun crime through a range of proactive activities. Just this week 30 arrests were made and 14 firearms were seized under Operation Kestrel, a pro-active crackdown on gun crime and gun criminals.”
When asked whether officers believed that these incidents could indicate a rise in gun crime, a Met police spokesperson said: “It is almost impossible to ascertain whether a number of incidents represent an increase in the overall gun crime or are just an anomaly.”