Clapham Common shooting: Moped gunmen shoot two in high street pub while a third is 'run over' as po

Publish date: 2024-07-01

Police are hunting for two gunmen after three people were injured in a shooting at a south London pub this afternoon.

The Metropolitan Police said that a firearm, believed to be a shotgun, was discharged from a moped that they had been chasing near Clapham Common South Side.

Emergency crews rushed to The Belle Vue pub in Clapham Common at around 5pm after two women suffered shotgun pellet injuries and a third person was run over by the moped before the suspects discarded the vehicle and fled the scene on foot.

A large hole can be seen in the glass window of the pub, while a weapon and a black moped were also visible on the road. MailOnline understands that the incident is not terror related.

Detectives have closed off a significant stretch of Clapham High Street – a busy nightlife hub which revellers would have been getting ready to descend on tonight. Locals were also visibly irate that all buses through the major route have been cancelled.

Paramedics with the London Ambulance Service have taken the victims to hospital but none of the injuries are thought to be life-threatening.

The shooting comes amid a growing clamour for police to clampdown on crime in the capital, with Sadiq Khan accused of failing Londoners last month after it emerged that more than 1,000 people have been killed since he became mayor. 

Henry Smith, who was in the Belle Vue pub with three friends at the time of the attack, said that two women were left bleeding after being shot whilst inside the pub.

Police have launched a manhunt for a gunman after three people were injured in a south London shooting this afternoon. A picture posted on social media appears to show a sawn-off shotgun discarded in the street

Police have launched a manhunt for a gunman after three people were injured in a south London shooting this afternoon. A picture posted on social media appears to show a sawn-off shotgun discarded in the street

A weapon appears to have been left at the scene

A suspected bullet hole is left in a window

A weapon appears to have been left at the scene while a suspected bullet hole is left in a window

A moped is discarded on the street by Clapham Common station following the incident this afternoon

A moped is discarded on the street by Clapham Common station following the incident this afternoon

Emergency crews rushed to the scene at around 5pm on Friday following the terrifying incident which is believed to have taken place outside the Belle Vue pub in Clapham Common. Shattered glass can be seen on one of the pub windows

Emergency crews rushed to the scene at around 5pm on Friday following the terrifying incident which is believed to have taken place outside the Belle Vue pub in Clapham Common. Shattered glass can be seen on one of the pub windows

He told MailOnline: ‘There was a really loud bang and broken glass. There were two people who ran past the window having crashed their moped.

‘There was a crashed moped outside and they shot a shotgun through the window. I’m not sure if they were aiming for someone. Two women got shot in the pub. They were alright but bleeding.

‘One was shot on the side of the head or got hit by shotgun shrapnel.’

Mr Smith, who said there were only around 10 others inside the pub on top of his group, said he ‘heard a massive bang’ and that the suspects were being ‘chased by police. 

‘There were lots of police very soon and now it’s cordoned off,’ he added.

‘The two women were getting first aid. I went outside and had a look. Part of the shotgun was in the road and part of it was in the pavement – we went to another pub.’

Richard Herbert, owner of Red Vine restaurant on Clapham High Street, said that he heard two gunshots from the eatery before seeing a motorcycle crashed on the pavement in the aftermath.

From his restaurant on the edge of the cordon, Mr Herbert said: ‘Two gunshots are all we heard.

‘By the time I saw anything there was a motorbike on the pavement crashed.

‘We are just outside the cordon now.’

Douglas De Souza, owner of Headquarterz hairdressers on Clapham High Street saw the ordeal from his shop.

The 48-year-old recalled: ‘They were being chased by the police and they dropped the bike and ran.

The Belle Vue was closed tonight following the incident in Clapham this afternoon

The Belle Vue was closed tonight following the incident in Clapham this afternoon

Detectives have closed off a significant stretch of Clapham High Street - a busy nightlife hub which revellers would have been getting ready to descend on tonight

Detectives have closed off a significant stretch of Clapham High Street – a busy nightlife hub which revellers would have been getting ready to descend on tonight

The suspects fled the scene on foot and the moped was left on the street outside the pub

The suspects fled the scene on foot and the moped was left on the street outside the pub

Forensics are seen investigating the scene tonight

Forensics are seen investigating the scene tonight

Police cordoned off the area in Clapham Common as they investigated the suspected shooting

Police cordoned off the area in Clapham Common as they investigated the suspected shooting

Three people have been injured in Clapham, south London, London Ambulance Service said, following reports of a shooting incident.

Three people have been injured in Clapham, south London, London Ambulance Service said, following reports of a shooting incident.

Emergency crews were called at around 5pm on Friday to the incident in Clapham Common South Side, the service said.

Emergency crews were called at around 5pm on Friday to the incident in Clapham Common South Side, the service said.

In a statement, it added: 'We sent a number of resources including ambulance crews, operational managers, advanced paramedics and London's air ambulance.

In a statement, it added: ‘We sent a number of resources including ambulance crews, operational managers, advanced paramedics and London’s air ambulance.

'We treated three people at the scene and took two to a London major trauma centre and one to hospital.'

‘We treated three people at the scene and took two to a London major trauma centre and one to hospital.’

‘The police were chasing them and they came up behind then and I just heard the shots. They dropped the gun after.

‘I have my doubts about it being a shotgun because it sounded like a fake gun but then they ran away down Clapham Park Road.

‘There were seven or eight people in my shop at the time.

‘We are within the cordon – we haven’t left the shop yet. We are waiting for police and they are outside taking pictures of the evidence.

‘The gun was very small. Its been bagged up now.

‘The shots were quick in succession – like bang bang.’

A local barber said he was left ‘shocked’ after hearing shooting close to his shop near Clapham Common.

The man, who gave his name as Kaka, 34, who works in Chop Barbers, said: ‘I was in the shop just before 5pm and I heard a gunshot up the road.

‘We were all shocked because it was so close, the police were everywhere afterwards.’

A significant stretch of Clapham High Street is still closed near Clapham Common with six buses stuck inside the police tape.

There is a heavy police presence at both sides of the cordon speaking to people attempting to get through. 

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: ‘We were called today (Friday 1) at 4.59pm to reports of an incident in Clapham Common South Side.

‘We sent a number of resources including ambulance crews, operational managers, advanced paramedics and London’s air ambulance.

‘We treated three people at the scene and took two to a London major trauma centre and one to hospital.’

A crime scene is in place and there have been no arrests. 

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