Two young men were shot dead and a third left fighting for life following a street gunfight in east London early on Tuesday.
Armed officers responded to the triple shooting in residential Henley Road, Ilford around 12.16am.
Paramedics called police after reports of a fight in progress and shots fired.
At the scene officers found three men with gunshot injuries.
One victim, in his 20s, was tragically pronounced dead at the scene. Another man also in his 20s died a short time later.
There have been no arrests, and a police investigation is ongoing.
Neighbours fear the gunmen planned the shooting to coincide with Diwali celebrations around midnight so fireworks would drown out the gunshots.
One local, who himself had been stabbed in the area, claimed the shooting was targeted.
He told The Standard: “They were inside the house and some guys broke in and shot them all. It is a house they go to chill at.
“They must have planned it to happen at the same time as Diwali. These lot timed their attack to coincide with the fireworks so it wouldn’t alert anyone.
“It’s absolutely brutal and ruthless.
“There were fireworks going off all over the place around that time, one nearly hit me in the head.”
Scotland Yard confirmed they were called to reports of a fight in a house in Henley Road and shots fired.
But a spokesman couldn’t say where exactly the shooting took place at this stage in the investigation.
Neighbours said the sounds of gunshots were masked by fireworks set off late into the night as part of Diwali celebrations.
Shama Ahmad, 50, whose flat is just yards from where the men were shot, was left “shaken” by the incident.
“There was fireworks going right in front of my flat so with the fireworks the shots weren’t heard at all,” she said.
“But I heard screaming and shouting after. Some of them were just running away. Then the police helicopter came out and everything was shut down.
“It was terrible and scary. I’m very cautious and advise people not to be out past 10pm. You have to be very careful.”
Scotland Yard believe they know the identity of one of the deceased men and are working to inform next of kin.
A police spokesman said: “The third victim aged in his 30s was taken to hospital, where he remains in a critical condition.
“At this early stage there have been no arrests. Enquiries into the circumstances are ongoing. Crime scenes and road closures are in place.”
The shooting has led councillor Jas Athwal, leader of Redbridge Council, to call for more police officers.
“I think more police across the whole of the capital, these are numbers that have been cut over successive governments, we have to make sure we get the police here,” he said to reporters at the scene on Tuesday.
“We have been complaining about this in my role as London Councils lead on crime and community safety, I made that plea to the new Metropolitan Police commissioner only last week.”
He added: “Sometimes these things build up over time and that’s where the police is needed, to stop that building up over time. I think if we could get that we would be in a better place.”
During a press briefing at about 3.30pm on Tuesday, Met Police Inspector Holgate acknowledged residents’ concerns over the “horrific incident” and said extra officers will be patrolling the area.
“There are a number of crime scenes in place and we thank local residents for their understanding and cooperation,” he said.
“We understand that the community will quite rightly be shocked by this horrific incident, and we share in their concerns. However, I can assure you that my dedicated colleagues from the specialist crime command are working at pace to collect evidence and identify the suspects.
“I ask that you can support them by sharing any information that you have. There will also be additional officers patrolling the area in coming days.”
He urged anyone with information to speak directly to officers or to contact independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously.
“Shocking acts of violence like this motivates every single oficer in the Met to catch those responsible, bring justice to their families and take weapons of the streets,” he added.
The double murder is the fifth killing within a ten-mile radius of east London in six days.
London Ambulance Service said: “We were called at 12.12am today to reports of a shooting on Henley Road, Ilford.
“We sent a number of resources to the scene, including two ambulance crews, an advanced paramedic, a medic in a fast response car, two incident response officers, a clinical team leader and members of our tactical response unit.
“We also dispatched a trauma team from London’s Air Ambulance which consisted of a paramedic and a doctor in a car.
“We treated three people at the scene and took one person to a major trauma centre. Sadly, despite the best efforts of our crews, two people were pronounced dead at the scene.”
Meanwhile, a manhunt continues for a suspect who stabbed one woman to death and wounded another in Stratford.
The victims known to him were found with blade wounds at a home in Windmill Lane early on Sunday morning.
One, in her 50s, died at the scene and the other, in her thirties, was taken to hospital. Police said her injuries were not life-threatening.
Detective Inspector Aytac Necati, from the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “The family and friends of the victim and the injured woman are devastated and quite understandably want answers.
“My team and I have been working around the clock, piecing together what happened in the early hours of Sunday and to bring the person responsible to justice.
“There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes, including urgent enquiries to trace a man who is believed to have been known to both women.
“However, I would encourage anyone who has any information about the incident to get in touch as soon as possible. Even what you consider to be the most insignificant detail could be crucial to our investigation.”
Salieu Seray-Wurie, 25, was remanded in custody yesterday charged with the murder of Darren Ammon, 47, found strangled in Kirton Gardens, Shoreditch on Wednesday.
Marius Ziugzda, 46, of no fixed abode, also appeared before magistrates yesterday accused of murdering a man aged 60 discovered unresponsive in Goodmayes Park, Ilford on Thursday.
Separately, in south London, a man in his 30s is recovering after a knifing in Lower Coombe Street, Croydon at 5.48pm yesterday.
He was injured in an assault that took place immediately before officers arrived in the area.
