Man shot dead on his own doorstep in London on Christmas Eve
Written by News on 26/12/2019
A man was shot dead on his own doorstep on Christmas Eve in Battersea, southwest London.
Officers were called to a townhouse in Battersea Church Road at about 9pm to reports of shots being fired.
A man believed to be in his 30s was pronounced dead after police and paramedics arrived at the scene.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed a murder investigation had been launched.
No arrests have been made.
Neighbours described hearing multiple gunshots followed by a woman screaming for help.
Vittoria Amati, 60, who lives near the scene, said: “I was watching television when I heard this round of shots. One after the other very quickly. There was between eight to 10 of them.
“I knew it was a shooting and I didn’t want to come out because I was scared it might not be safe.
“I then heard the screams of the wife. I came out and realised it was one of my neighbours. He was lying in front of his doorway in a pool of blood.
“He was still alive. We were really hoping he would make it.
“You have no idea how desperate she [his wife] sounded.”
Mrs Amati said a young woman who identified herself as a nurse helped the victim and applied pressure to his wounds as he was bleeding “heavily”.
The man was moved from his doorway and initially into the back of an ambulance by paramedics, she said.
However, they took him out again to begin treating him on the road.
A cordon has been set up at the scene and police have been carrying out forensic inquiries.
A tent has been placed over a point in Battersea Church Road.
It is the 142nd homicide identified by the PA news agency in London in 2019 – the highest number in a calendar year since 2008.
Last year there were 141 police-recorded homicides in the capital.
(c) Sky News 2019: Man shot dead on his own doorstep in London on Christmas Eve
