Police hunting gunmen who shot and killed two young men have identified suspects and arrests will be made in “due course”, a local MP said.
Armed officers were called to reports of a fight and shots being fired in Henley Road, Ilford, just after midnight on Tuesday morning.
Two men, aged 23 and 30, died at the scene and a 30-year-old man remains in a critical condition in hospital.
Sam Tarry, Labour MP for Ilford South, said the incident escalated during a house party, and said he understood next of kin for all three victims had been informed this morning.
“The police have not confirmed it was gang related, gang members may have been involved,” he said.
“It was a house party, there was obviously people there with weapons, whatever happened, whether there was an altercation, that will come out in the investigation.”
He continued: “I haven’t spoken to the next of kin yet but I believe they have just been informed in the last couple of hours.”
Asked if they were constituents of his, he said: “That’s not been made available to me, obviously it was a house party so it maybe that some were constituents and some from the surrounding areas.”
Asked if police had identified suspects and if any raids had been undertaken, he said: “I’ve not heard that there’s been any raids. I know that they’ve identified suspects and arrests will be made in due course.”
He went on to say: “Ilford doesn’t have a problem that people might say of other areas of London of major gang warfare, turf warefares and stuff.
“In this area we are standing there are issues with low level drug dealing and so forth, that’s been a problem for a number of years.
“I would like to reassure residents that we are not in the middle of some gang turf war, that’s definitely not what’s happened.
“I’m sure police will come out and confirm that in due course. Three people could potentially be dead, two have been murdered already.
“One aged 23 and one in their 30s. That is shocking. In the prime of their life and that’s been snatched away. And the devastating impact that’s had on the whole of their family and friends who will have witnessed that.
“Obviously, they will be now mourning those people who have lost their lives. This shouldn’t be the norm in any part of London.”
He said he has had a meeting with London Mayor Sadiq Khan this morning, who is “extremely concerned”, and also raised it with the shadow Home Secretary and the new Home Secretary, as well as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
Mr Tarry said: “My view is, very strongly, we need more policing, we need more social workers, we need more youth service provision to tackle this, but we do need to deal with the wider economic crisis the country is facing.
“When young people think it is a better idea getting involved selling drugs or joining a gang than it is to get a well paid job, then that is actually something fundamentally wrong with society.
“When you can make quick money selling drugs that’s obviously appealing to some people.
“We need better programmes to get people into decent employment, and show them this is not the way forward. You’ll ruin your life and your family’s life.”
A cordon remains in place at the scene.
Forensic officers were seen searching the street outside the property involved this morning.
