Man dies after ‘accidentally shooting himself’ in Lewisham

Scene of the shooting. Pic: Andrew Chang. Twitter,@achang4achange

A man in his 20s has died of gunshot wounds in Sydenham.
The Metropolitan Police has suggested in a statement that the man’s death may have been a result of an accidental discharge from his own firearm.
The fatal shooting took place outside the branch of Lloyds bank on Sydenham Road, SE26. Police were called at 3:45pm on Sunday, 8 September to reports of suspicious activity.
Officers attended the scene when shots were heard. Firearms officers along with the London Ambulance Service also attended.

A 25-year-old man was found with gunshot wounds and he died at the scene at 3:50 pm. The man is yet to be formally identified but police state that the individual’s next of kin have been informed.

A Met police spokesperson has confirmed that one man has been arrested in connection with the investigation and remains in custody at a south London police station.

No one else was injured during the incident.

In a statement, Detective Chief Inspector Richard Leonard said:“We are still in the early stages of the investigation and our enquiries into how the man came to be fatally injured continue. However, one hypothesis is that the man unintentionally discharged a firearm resulting in his fatal injury.”

A 56-year-old woman who lives nearby told Sky News that she was stuck inside the police cordon for three hours after the shooting. She told Sky reporters, “He came to shoot someone else, but he ended up shooting himself.”

Following the incident, Lewisham MP, Ellie Reeves, took to Twitter writing that she was, “Shocked and saddened to learn of the fatal shooting in Sydenham”. The Labour MP went on to say that, “Any loss of life is a tragedy but violent crime has no place in our society”.

If you have any information regarding this incident, please contact The Met police on 101 quoting CAD 4860/8Sept or the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

 

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