Three cars left with bullet holes but no one believed to be hurt

POLICE were called to reports of gunfire last night (Thursday) in a shooting believed to be connected to an ongoing feud between youths from rival estates.

In the latest suspected incident involving youths from South Kilburn and their neighbours in the Mozart estate, three cars were found riddled with bullet holes in Walterton Road, Queen’s Park, at around 7.20pm.

Police officers who were called to the scene also found a number of casings on the floor.

There was no evidence anyone was hurt but the matter has been handed over to Operation Trident, the Metropolitan police’s specialist team that investigates gun crime.A police spokesman said: “We believe the incident involved groups who are known to each other.”

A resident, who did not want to give his name for fear of reprisals, said: “I think the majority of SK [residents] are sadly used to seeing incidents on our streets. You just hope its someone you don’t know!

“There is a rising level of tension on our streets. Sadly the good weather just heightens the risk of these incidents. If last night was SK on Mozart we just wait for the reprisal. A very sad state of affairs.”

Daniel Smith, 22, from Queen’s Park, was an innocent casualty of the feud after he was gunned down outside KFC in Harrow Road, Paddington, in a case of mistaken identity in May last year.

No one has been charged in conection with his murder.

Melody Odusanya, of Tell It Parents Action Group, a community group that works to tackle gang crime in the area, said people cannot get their heads round why people fight over postcodes when they live so close together.

She said: “People say it is a black or gang or trident thing but it’s not its a mentality thing. It’s just sick.

“It’s so depressing; it just highlights the work that needs to be done.”

Two new community groups have started up in the last few weeks in an attempt to reclaim public spaces in the area that people feel unsafe to use.

Friends of Chippenham Gardens and Living Streets will work together to encourage people to use and enjoy the recently landscaped Chippenham Gardens area in south Kilburn.

At a Living Streets meeting last week Cllr Mary Arnold (Lab: Kilburn) said: “We want the square to be a place for people to meet and interact.”