Man killed as gangs clash

A man has been shot and killed after a row between two rival gangs spilled out on to a busy London street.

About a dozen young men had been drinking in the World's End pub in the King's Road, Chelsea, when the fight began at about 1pm yesterday.

Terrified shoppers dived for cover as the brawl reached the pavement. One woman told how the victim staggered a few paces after being shot in the chest, before collapsing on the pavement.

"At first I thought the lads were just mucking around but it became obvious there was a serious punch-up going on," she said.

"There were about 12 of them all punching and kicking each other. It was chaos and I was really frightened, as the group came very close to where I was sitting.

"I heard a single shot and then I saw the victim stagger backwards with the force. He had been shot in the chest and his shirt was soaked with blood. He collapsed and the others all ran off up the road to the nearby World's End estate."

Another witness said: "I heard one of the boys say, 'you've stitched me up, I'm going to shoot you' and then he just pulled out a gun."

The man was airlifted to the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital but pronounced dead at 2.25pm. He is thought to have been in his late teens or early twenties and lived locally.

His identity has not been confirmed by police, but onlookers said his brother was with him when the attack took place.

Today residents of the World's End Estate said the death had been a tragedy waiting to happen.

Chair of the residents' association, Eryl Humphrey Jones, said the area was a notorious haunt for drug-dealers. She claimed the estate's tenant management organisation had ignored calls to improve security.

"We always feared something like this would happen. We've been begging for better security for years now," she said.

"There have always been gangs of young men overtly selling drugs and we have complained about this. Three of the entry phone doors are broken and these people can just walk in and do their business. I am not surprised it has culminated in something so horrendous."

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said the police were keeping an open mind about the circumstances of the shooting. She added: "It might have been the result of an altercation between two to three 16 and 17-yearold black youths. It will be dealt with by one of our murder squads." There have been no arrests so far.

This morning the stretch of the King's Road at the junction with Shawfield Road where the shooting took place remained cordoned off - as did the victim's house nearby.