Two teenagers die after night of gun violence in London

Two teenagers have died following a night of gun violence in London.

In two separate shootings on Monday night a 17-year-old girl was killed, while a 16-year-old boy today died from his injuries.

The 16-year-old was left critically injured following the shooting in Walthamstow, and died in hospital.

Tributes have been paid to the teenage girl, who was named locally as Tanesha.

Witnesses say she was shot from a car as she chatted with friends late on Easter Monday.

A woman who knew the girl said she was "just chilling with her friends" in Tottenham, north London, when she was attacked for "no reason at all" - adding that it could have been the result of a postcode war between rival gangs.

The witness described the victim as a "good girl" who died in front of her mother.

"She was screaming. She didn't know what to do. She didn't deserve that. Her mum didn't deserve to watch her die," the woman said.

On Tuesday night the Metropolitan Police confirmed a 16-year-old boy had died in hospital. "His next of kin were present at hospital when he passed away," the force said in a statement, adding: "The Homicide and Major Crime Command are now investigating alongside colleagues from the Trident and Area Crime Command.

No arrests have been made in that shooting.

Local MP Stella Creasy said on her Facebook page that that the 16-year-old had been shot in the face.

The shootings come as the capital sees a spike in murders. So far in 2018 alone, Scotland Yard has launched 47 murder inquiries, compared with 130 for the whole of last year.

The latest shooting has resulted in comparisons being drawn to New York, with the Sunday Times reporting that London now has the higher murder rate.

What did witnesses say about the shootings?

Witnesses said the teenage girl was shot shortly before 9.30pm.

One witness said he heard three bangs which sounded like fireworks. He then saw the victim sat with friends with blood on her right side before police and paramedics arrived.

A friend of the murdered girl later said: "Tanesha was a very known, very lovable little girl in the community, she was not involved in any sort of problems with anyone.

"I can't believe she's gone. She was just an innocent child caught up in this stupid postcode war."

Another neighbour said of the area: "It's not nice - so many drugs, stabbings, cycles up and down - no respect for people any more."

Investigators say they are yet to draw any connections between this attack and the one on the two boys.

• How bad has violent crime become in London?

The latest killing follows the murder of a 20-year-old man in London on Sunday, who became the capital's 31st victim of knife crime so far this year.

He was stabbed moments after leaving a bar in Wandsworth.

Scotland Yard has already launched 47 murder inquiries this year - eight in January, 15 in February, 22 in March and two in April.

Official figures published in January showed that there were 37,443 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument recorded ending September 2017 - a 21% increase on the previous year.

Gun-related crime also went up by a fifth year-on-year, to 6,694 recorded offences.

Last week, relatives of Abraham Badru, who was shot dead in Hackney in March, said that gun culture had become "rampant" in London.