Three people injured in police pursuit shooting

Image source, Jake Warren

Image caption, A large number of emergency services remain in the area

Three people have been injured in Clapham, south London, in a shooting that happened during a police pursuit.

Two people suffered shotgun pellet injuries when a weapon was fired by a moped rider being pursued by officers near Clapham Common South Side, the Metropolitan Police said.

A third person was injured by the moped during the incident just before 17:00 GMT. The two suspects fled the scene.

London Ambulance Service took two of the injured to a major trauma centre.

Another was taken to hospital and police said a firearm was recovered at the scene.

‘Police everywhere’

One eyewitness told the BBC he had been in the Belle Vue pub when he heard a shot followed by a second which went through the window of the pub.

“I just saw one guy in like a tracksuit run past and a police car speed after him,” he said. “And then I went back into the pub and saw a girl who was facing towards the bar had like blood down the back of her leg.”

He said he had told a police officer to bring in paramedics to help the woman who he described as “quite relaxed” but in “a lot of shock”.

The witness suggested that two people had been hit by the same shot – “One woman was sat right in front of the window and it hit her on the side of the head. The other was stood up at the bar.”

He added that if the woman who was sat in front of the window had been sat in the seat to her right, which was empty, she would have “taken a full face of buckshot”.

“It’s insane how close it could have been to being even more tragic,” he said.

A barber, who gave his name as Kaka and was working nearby, 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 large number of emergency services remained in the area, which was cordoned off.

Forensic teams were seen working in and around The Belle Vue pub, but no arrests have so far been made.

Police continue to hunt for the two suspects.

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