Two teenage boys were shot from close range by a thug armed with a shotgun as they ate inside a London chicken shop.
One of them fled out the back of the takeaway before collapsing in a nearby garden.
The victim managed to hop over a fence – despite being shot in the back, according to shocked eye witnesses.
He was one of two 16-year-old boys shot inside the PFC chicken shop in Plaistow, east London, on Friday night.
The gunshots were so loud that shocked neighbours thought it was a car crash.
They said there was “blood everywhere” inside the takeaway which is at the end of a quiet residential street in the shadow of Canary Wharf.
The shutters were down and the owners were busy cleaning inside today (SAT) with the aim of re-opening later.
Mother-of-one Amy Ford, 23, who lives a few doors from the chicken shop, said: “The two boys who got shot were just sitting in there eating when another boy opened the door holding a shotgun, and he let off shots inside.
“He was aiming towards one of the boy’s stomach. The other one got shot in the leg.
“The boy with the back injury ran out of the back of the shop and hopped over the fence, and collapsed in the garden.”
She added: “About three shots went off.
“I heard the bangs, and thought it was a car crash. It was quite late, I was in the front room with my telly on, and I heard them there. Within about 60 seconds of that happening, I heard sirens.
“The whole street was covered in police. All you could see was blue lights. They shut off the road.
“This area, it could be anything – drugs, gang postcode wars. It literally could be anything, or it could be nothing.
“You hear of people getting stabbed over a pair of trainers, so it could have just been gang initiation stuff. That all goes on around here. There’s gang crime, knife and acid attacks – it’s all getting more and more frequent.”
Her boyfriend Chris, 29, a delivery driver, said: “Apparently there was a gathering of a big group. There was about 30 to 40 people inside the shop.
“I came in from work about 15 minutes before and there were boys outside the chicken shop – but it was nothing unusual. A lot of people use it, so it’s normally quite busy. I didn’t think anything of it.”
Chris, who declined to give his surname, said he had spoken to one of the owners, adding: “He said he had to clean up all the blood.
“He has got to try and clean everything up and get it all a bit sterile. He said hopefully they will open again this afternoon. It wasn’t his fault it happened, yet he is left to clear it up on his own.
“From what I have seen myself, there was blood everywhere. It was behind the counter, everything – all over the floor.”
Chris, who has a one-year-old baby with Amy, said he saw the victim who hopped over the fence be brought out of the house. He said he was black and of slim build.
He said: “When they brought one of the boys out, he didn’t look like he was in good shape. People helped him.
“The whole road was full of police. They were here into the early hours of the morning. They had dogs everywhere.
“From what we heard he just opened the door, leaned in and fired the gun.”
Police say one of the injured boys sustained a gunshot injury to his back while the other suffered a leg wound.
They were taken by paramedics to an east London hospital, but there injuries are not believed to be life threatening and both remain in a “stable” condition.
The gunman fled the scene.
The incident is being investigated by the Met’s Trident unit, which focuses on gang crime, and detectives are appealing for witnesses.
A Met Police spokesman said: “Trident detectives are appealing for witnesses after a gunman opened fire on a fast food restaurant in Plaistow, seriously injuring two boys.
“Police were called to Terrace Road, Plaistow, at 8.38pm on Friday to reports of a shooting.
“Police, London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance attended.
“Witnesses at the scene described shots having been fired into a fast food outlet injuring two 16-year-olds.
“One 16-year-old suffered a gunshot injury to the back. A second 16-year-old male suffered a gunshot wound to the leg.
“He was taken to an east London hospital where his injuries are not life threatening and his condition is stable.
“Officers from the Met’s Trident and Area Crime Command are investigating. There have been no arrests. Inquiries continue.”
Agnes Sina-Inakoju, 16, was fatally shot in a takeaway in Hoxton, east London, in April 2010 when she was caught up in a gang feud.
She was shot in the neck by a bicycle-riding gunman who fired through the shop’s window.
A total of 24 teenagers have been murdered in London this year, the highest number for 10 years and double the 2016 tally.
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