Two men have died after a car chase that ended with a Deliveroo driver being knocked off his moped and another man fatally shot.
The men, both in their 20s, were killed in Railton Road, Brixton, shortly before 8pm on Sunday after local people heard shots ring out and vehicles crashing.
Police said two cars were involved in a high-speed chase when one hit a moped and a number of parked cars.
A man then got out of the crashed car and was chased and shot dead by a gunman from the second car, which then drove away.
On Monday a Deliveroo driver working near the scene said he knew one of the victims, who had been making his last delivery of the day when he died.
Paulo Silva, 42, described him as a “good boy” and “young” and said he had been planning to go to Brazil in December.
Reports on social media suggested that the shot man was a drill rapper.
We are supporting Specialist Crime detectives, who are working at pace to confirm the specific sequence of events and identify and arrest those responsible— Chief Superintendent Colin Wingrove
Haani Samuels, a 30-year-old electrician, who has lived on Railton Road with his girlfriend for six months, said he initially thought the noise was fireworks.
He said: “My girlfriend said, ‘oh, is that gunshots?’ And I initially thought, well, obviously not. But then it was followed by a big crash.”
Mr Samuels added: “I kind of came out and saw that there was shells from a bullet on the floor. We thought ‘bloody hell’.
“We saw the ambulance delivering CPR on someone for quite a while, my girlfriend was quite upset. It’s not something you want to see anywhere, but especially on your doorstep.”
The Metropolitan Police have not yet confirmed the identities of either of the victims but said that work was continuing to inform their families.
Chief Superintendent Colin Wingrove said: “Following initial inquiries, we believe that two cars were being driven at speed in the Railton Road area.
“One of the cars struck a moped before colliding with parked vehicles. The rider of the moped is one of the two men who died at the scene.
“At this stage, there is nothing to indicate that he was an intended target.
“Tragically, we believe he was out riding his moped when he was caught up in this violent incident.
“Following the collision an occupant of the first car got out and made his way down the road, pursued by a male from the second car who was in possession of a firearm. A fleeing male was shot and also tragically died at the scene.
“The gunman returned to his car and drove away.
“We’re not confirming the identity of the victims at this stage but officers are confident they know who they are. The next of kin have been informed and will be provided with support from specialist officers.
“I know I share the feelings of the whole community when I say that I’m shocked and saddened by this incident, and I recognise a concern it will have caused locally and to the wider community, and we’re already working closely with our partners to provide reassurance and support to residents and others that have been affected.”
White forensic tents were put up at the scene on Monday, where debris could be seen strewn across the road.
There were two crashed vehicles – a silver car which had lost one of its tyres and a moped.
A 322 bus was left parked within the police cordon.
The latest violence means four people have been killed in two shootings in five days in the English capital, after a separate incident in Ilford, east London, on Tuesday that left two men dead and a third injured.
This follows a spate of shootings in July in which three men died in separate attacks in six days.
Before these killings, up until July 19 this year, there had been no firearms deaths in the English capital since October 31 2021.
In the whole of 2021, there were 12 fatal shootings among a total of 134 homicides recorded by the Metropolitan Police.
And in April, the force said it had seen a reduction in gun crime, with the number of all shootings, including fatal and non-fatal, down from 283 in 2019/20 to 196 in 2021/22.
