A murder hunt is underway after a man was shot dead in Kilburn yesterday evening.

Brent & Kilburn Times: Tributes have been left at the scene (Pic: Nathalie Raffray)Tributes have been left at the scene (Pic: Nathalie Raffray) (Image: Archant)

The victim, who is in his 20s and has been named locally as Yasir who was also known as Loopy, was gunned down in Kilburn High Road near the junction with Netherwood Street, at around 5.20pm.

Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Yosif Walied, supervisor at Doner Kebab German Doner on Kilburn High Road, told the Times he heard a loud bang and saw Yasir cross the road before he collapsed on the pavement.

He added: “This is a busy street and he was shot when lots of people were around.

Brent & Kilburn Times: Police at the murder scene last night (Pic: Twitter@SophieJaca)Police at the murder scene last night (Pic: Twitter@SophieJaca) (Image: Archant)

“In the past Kilburn had a bad reputation for knife crime, but something like this to happen again is insane.

“We all feel a bit afraid and very shocked.”

An employee at the Vape Hut, which has been open for three years, said she heard nothing as the shop very busy with loud music playing but saw a young man fall.

She added: “My colleague ran out to the other side of the street as he’s a first aider so went to see if he could help. He came back a minute the later when the police arrived.

It’s very sad. A young person has died., they haven’t caught anyone yet, it makes it feel unsafe. This is a very restless area.”

Mahmut Siringul, director of the Halal Food Centre, a 24-hour shop, said: “The shop was very busy at that time, serving customers. It’s very bad, when I saw that body I felt very sad. The police were here from 5pm until 2 O’clock in the morning. People who needed to buy gas and electricity could not come inside.

“It’s not bad here at the moment but there are still people who are afraid to come to the area. It’s Friday, normally it’s very busy but there’s nobody out in the street.”

Victor, a resident in the area for 53 years said: “An event like this creates waves. I’m not directly linked to this but it hurts.”

Anyone witnesses or with information should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.