Gunman fired ‘up to three shots’ at 21-year-old victim in Somers Town attack

UP TO three gunshots were fired from the street at a young man who was in a student house, people living nearby have said.
Police outside a home in Hudson Road, Somers Town, where a 21-year-old man was shot in the leg. Picture: Ben FishwickPolice outside a home in Hudson Road, Somers Town, where a 21-year-old man was shot in the leg. Picture: Ben Fishwick
Police outside a home in Hudson Road, Somers Town, where a 21-year-old man was shot in the leg. Picture: Ben Fishwick

Bangs ‘like a balloon popping’ pierced the night in Hudson Road, Somers Town, when the 21-year-old was attacked at around 5.15am on Sunday morning.

Damage can be seen to the front door of the mid-terrace property, and the front room window is partially boarded up with smashed glass on the street below.

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Shouting broke out and the noise of at least one person running away was heard by neighbour who were woken by the gunshots.

Police outside a home in Hudson Road, Somers Town, where a 21-year-old man was shot in the leg. Picture: Ben FishwickPolice outside a home in Hudson Road, Somers Town, where a 21-year-old man was shot in the leg. Picture: Ben Fishwick
Police outside a home in Hudson Road, Somers Town, where a 21-year-old man was shot in the leg. Picture: Ben Fishwick
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Specialist search teams have been looking through bins and drains today while forensics teams examine the property.

Extra patrols have been deployed and a police guard is in place outside the house.

Hampshire police have said the victim is still in hospital and his leg injury is not life-threatening.

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A police spokeswoman added the incident was ‘isolated’ with ‘no wider risk to the community’.

Shop worker Kunyagon Ladthaisong, 34, lives just a few doors down from the shooting.

‘I heard two shots - I woke up at 5.15am and it was like a balloon popping. It wasn’t like a really loud bang,’ she said.

‘I heard some shouting but I’m not sure. It’s just a few houses away, it’s concerning.’

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Student Grant Law, 25, said he was woken by ‘smashing’ but thought it might be the noise of someone breaking into a car.

‘I heard what I thought was somebody smashing a window,’ he said. ‘Then another bang went off, I was like “oh god”.

‘I’ve never heard anything like that before. I just didn’t realise what happened. At 5.15am someone has been shot - that just doesn’t happen. This is a student road.’

The third year computer engineering student added: ‘What makes it so outrageous was it’s a gun - it’s just so weird.’

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Teenager Alex Joyce, 19, who lives across the street, said he was upstairs in from a night shift when he heard the bangs. He said: ‘I just heard a few loud bangs and thought someone is messing about. I didn’t think anything of it.’

But he then heard people shouting ‘oi, oi, oi’ and a commotion outside.

Officers are appealing for information as no one has been arrested.

The spokeswoman added: ‘The man remains in hospital, however his injury is not believed to be life-threatening at this time.

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‘While we are still in the early stages of this complex investigation, we would like to reassure the local community that we believe this was an isolated incident with no wider risk to the community.

‘Forensic searches continue around the area of the scene today and we would like to thank everybody living nearby for their help and cooperation while these searches have been ongoing.’

Anyone with information should call police on 101 quoting Operation Lament.