A man who was killed and a woman who was critically injured in a shooting in Wood Green, north London, were not the intended targets, police believe.

A 42-year-old man, identified locally as father-of-two Erdogan Guzel, was pronounced dead at the scene, and a 51-year-old woman, who has not been named, remains in a critical but stable condition in an east London hospital.

Scotland Yard said detectives believed the two victims were not the intended targets of Friday evening’s shooting, and were probably innocent bystanders who were not known to each other.

Police said a postmortem examination had taken place and the cause of death was given as a gunshot wound to the chest. There have been no arrests and the murder investigation continues.

While officers believe they know the identity of the 42-year-old man who died, and next of kin have been informed, they await a formal identification.

The incident happened just outside the Bros Bakery in Lordship Lane where Guzel would often sit, witnesses said.

A friend of Guzel, who asked not to be named, said: “He was always on this street, he lived nearby. He was a good guy.”

He said Guzel had two children, a son and a daughter aged between 15 and 16, who are currently on holiday in Turkey.

They just started shooting ​– they didn’t care who was there. They were just shooting everywhere Mihir Yurdakul, witness

One witness, who was in a fish and chip shop near the scene, said: “I saw the woman and turned away. Then I heard the bang. She fell down on the floor. There was a child on a bike and he was lying on the floor as well.”

A local business owner, who witnessed the incident, told ITV News he believed the victims were shot from inside a car.

Haydar Alma, 42, who owns a nearby shop, said: “I was in the shop working and I heard the gun, like an automatic. I looked outside and I saw the car and the window open and somebody shooting. After they had gone I went outside and I saw the woman. Somebody called an ambulance.”

Alma said passers-by rushed to help the victims and he was asked to get tissues to try to stop the bleeding while they waited for emergency services to arrive.

He said: “The ambulance took the woman and did something for the man here. I asked the policeman what had happened and he said he had died.”

Mihir Yurdakul, 35, told the London Evening Standard that he had been sitting with Guzel, who was sprayed with bullets “within a few seconds”. “We were sat outside the shop and they came with a car and a big gun,” he said. “They just started shooting – they didn’t care who was there. They were just shooting everywhere from a machine gun. Everyone was diving on the floor to save their lives, and then we found out our friend had been shot so we called police.”

Bullet hole damage after a drive-by shooting in Wood Green. Photograph: Ricardo Maynard/Demotix/Corbis

Imam Sumbul, who is a friend of the man’s cousin, said a similar incident happened at the end of June in which a gunman tried to open fire, but failed to discharge his weapon before fleeing.

Sumbul said: “He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The bullet was not meant for him. There is a big Turkish community here, everyone uses each other’s shops”

Police were called at about 5.45pm to reports of a shooting in Lordship Lane. Officers, London ambulance service and London’s air ambulance attended.

The two victims were discovered suffering from gunshot wounds, and the man was pronounced dead at the scene at 7.05pm. The woman was taken to hospital, where she remains.

Police say any witnesses, or anyone who was in or around the area who may have any information that could assist them, are urged to call the incident room on 020 8785 8244 or via 101. Alternatively they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via crimestoppers-uk.org.