Battersea resident, believed to be in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene

A man has died after being shot on Christmas Eve in south-west London, the Metropolitan police have said.

Officers were called to Battersea Church Road at about 9pm on 24 December to reports of shots being fired.

Police and the London ambulance service attended the scene, where a man believed to be in his 30s was pronounced dead. Scotland Yard confirmed that it had launched a murder investigation.

Neighbours described hearing multiple gunshots followed by a woman screaming for help. Vittoria Amati, 60, 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.”

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”. She said the man was moved from his doorway and initially into the back of an ambulance by paramedics. However, they took him out again to begin treating him on the road, Amati said.

A 24-year-old man, who also lives nearby, said he initially thought the gunshots were fireworks. He said: “We opened the window and we heard a woman saying her husband had been shot. We heard about five shots.

“We thought it was fireworks, but when we heard the lady panic, we knew it was more serious. From what I saw, he was shot in the neck and I saw a bullet wound to his stomach. One of the girls here came out and tried to put pressure on the wounds, then police came and took over.”

The man, who not wish to be named, said at one point there were about 10 people gathered outside trying to call 999.

A police cordon remained outside the house on Christmas night. A police car was also parked nearby.

The death is the 142nd murder 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 murders in the capital, according to Home Office statistics.

No arrests have been made and homicide detectives are investigating, the Met said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 or tweet @MetCC and quote CAD 6410/24Dec. Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.



