Five people have been shot during a bloody Bank Holiday weekend in London including a 13-year-old boy who was blasted in the face during a botched drive-by while walking down a high street with his parents.

Police investigating the 'senseless and appalling' crime in Harrow, north west London, said the child was an 'innocent bystander' in an attack that also left a 15-year-old in hospital with head injuries.

A third person was shot in the arm, but vanished before the emergency services arrived, Scotland Yard has revealed, and a 39-year-old man was arrested and later released under investigation.

The 13-year-old was hit in the face with a number of shotgun pellets and was taken to a nearby West London hospital.

On Monday, police were called after a 30-year-old man was shot in New Cross, south east London.

Officers responded to the scene in John Williams Close at around 4.50pm. His condition is not believed to be life-threatening. No arrests have been made.

Just ten minutes earlier, officers responded to reports of a stabbing in Leystonstone Road in east London.

The victim, who is believed to be 17, was taken to an east London hospital. His condition was initially deemed critical, but is now thought to be not life-threatening.

Elsewhere, two men died in stabbings in Liverpool and Luton over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Fatah Warsame, 20, from Cardiff, died after being stabbed in Liverpool city centre early on Sunday morning, while another victim, also aged 20, was killed in Bishopscote Road in Luton that evening.

There has been bloodshed across London over the Bank Holiday weekend forcing the Met to send out more police patrols and increase intelligence-led stop and search

Rhyhiem Ainsworth Barton was murdered in south London on Saturday less than 24 hours before a 13-year-old and 15-year-old were shot in broad daylight in Harrow and his bereft mother Pretana has pleaded for children to 'stop killing each other'.

A 13-year-old boy suffered a shotgun pellet wound to the head within minutes of another teenager, aged 15, on junction of Palmerston Road and Wealdstone High Street in Harrow, north-west London shortly after 1.15pm yesterday

A blood-stained grey Adidas sweatshirt with blood stains on the hood lay crumpled on the ground where the two young teenagers were shot

London mayor Sadiq Khan said today he will 'work ceaselessly to tackle violent crime' - but used the crisis to bash the government saying their £1billion budget cuts left police 'under-funded and under-resourced'.

The Met is to send out extra patrols and increase 'stop and search' today after a bloody crime wave of shootings was kick-started by a murder in Southwark on Saturday night.

Rhyhiem Ainsworth Barton, 17, was the 62nd victim to be killed in the capital this year after London's murder rate overtook New York's in February and March.

Rhyhiem's bereft mother Pretana Morgan visited the scene where her son was murdered o Saturday and pleaded for children to 'stop killing each other'.

She said: 'Any loss of life is a loss. It doesn't matter where they come from. It doesn't matter what religion, what culture, what skin colour...a life is a life.'

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has blamed Theresa May's Government for the spike in violent crime.

Rhyhiem Ainsworth Barton is one of four people to die in murders in the UK this weekend

He said: 'As Mayor I'm doing all I can to compensate for the failure of ministers. I refuse to accept that nothing can be done to stem the appalling tide of violent killings we are seeing on our streets and together with the police, community groups, victims and their families and Londoners, will continue to work ceaselessly to tackle violent crime.

'Violent crime has been rising across the country since 2014 and the Government is failing in their basic duty to keep people safe – imposing cuts of £1bn on the Met Police which risk sending police numbers to historically low levels'.

Two boys, aged 13 and 15, were shot on a day of carnage on Sunday and are 'lucky to be alive'.

Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Rose, Harrow Borough Commander said: 'It would appear that the first victim was approached by two male suspects, one in possession of a shotgun - and shots were fired injuring him and an entirely innocent member of the public.

'This was a callous, reckless and brazen act, without any thought by those responsible for the fact that there were families with children and people in the high street enjoying their weekend. This was quite simply, appalling.

'As a parent myself, I know hearing an incident like this where a child has been shot whilst they have been with there parents will cause alarm. It is senseless and shows an utter disregard for the safety of others.

'I want to assure the communities of Harrow and the wider public we are doing everything we can to catch the suspects responsible. Violent crime has no place on our streets. Officers from Trident are investigating and we are supporting them locally.

'I would urge anyone who can assist us with the investigation or any witnesses who have not yet come forward to contact police.

'As we have already stated, over the Bank Holiday weekend additional officers are on the streets across the capital, working hard to keep London safe. There are highly visible local patrols, supported by armed response officers, traffic motorcycles, dog units, and air support - alongside plain clothes intelligence-led operation.

London mayor Sadiq Khan used the crisis to bash the government saying their £1billion budget cuts

Rhyhiem was the 62nd victim to be killed in the capital this year after London's murder rate overtook New York's in February and March

It comes after a 43-year-old was stabbed in Perivale, north-west London, on Sunday night after a dispute about driving.

Police said the man was attacked on Buckingham Avenue at around 9pm after a number of residents questioned a man in a blue car about the nature of his driving in the small residential street.

Meanwhile, three people were injured in a 'noxious substance' assault following an altercation between two groups in east London at around 5.20am on Sunday.

Police are investigating whether the men, aged 22 and 27, and a 17-year-old boy suffered life-changing injuries in the incident, at Shacklewell Lane in Hackney.

Just before 6.30pm on Sunday, police were flagged down by a member of the public in New Cross Road, south east London, where a 22-year-old man was suffering from gunshot wounds.

The injured man was taken by ambulance to a central London hospital where his condition is not life-threatening, Scotland Yard said.

Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Messinger, who is in charge of policing in Southwark, said: 'The violence used has rightly caused concern and we are doing all we can to address this.

Over the Bank Holiday weekend, additional officers are on the streets across the capital, working hard to keep London safe. They are using highly visible local patrols supported by armed response, traffic motorcycles, dog units, and air support - alongside plain clothes intelligence-led operations.

'Locally we are also employing intelligence-led search powers under Section 60 - my colleagues on the streets are using this power really effectively, seizing knives, stopping cars of individuals carrying weapons and making arrests.

'Furthermore, we have been working with our partners and the local authority, speaking regularly with community leaders to brief them on our response.

'Violence has no place on our streets. If you are carrying a weapon in Southwark linked to gang activity, you need to know that we can and will take action against you.

'I want the community to help us tackle this problem. As a father, community member and a police officer, I will do absolutely all I can to keep young people and the wider community safe. We can only achieve this if we work together.'

Rhyhiem Ainsworth Barton was found with fatal gunshot wounds in Warham Street Southwark at 6.05pm on Saturday, May 5.

Ms Morgan, 38, displays some mementos of her dead son 17-year-old Rhyhiem Barton who was shot dead including a photograph of the day he was born

Ms Morgan, 38, displays some mementos of her dead son 17-year-old Rhyhiem Barton who was shot dead including a photograph of his birth

Rhyhiem grieving mother has called on children to 'stop killing each other' yesterday.

Aspiring architect Rhyhiem Barton, 17, was playing football with friends when he was gunned down in a drive-by shooting on a London street at 6pm on Saturday.

Witnesses said a number of shots were fired, including one that narrowly missed a woman and went through a window.

Rhyhiem's mother Pretana Morgan arrived minutes later and watched as paramedics attempted to save him. Her son was pronounced dead on the street in Southwark shortly before 7pm.

Miss Morgan, 37, believes her son was killed by a gang called Zone 2 from Peckham, south London, who have terrorised her family for the past three years.

She even sent Rhyhiem to her native Jamaica in June 2017 for eight months in an attempt to protect him after he survived a stabbing to his chest a month earlier.

'I want these children to stop this,' she said. 'Enough parents are in this predicament and lose their child. All of the children out there, for my son's sake, should get out of this foolishness. You better wake up. You only have one life. You better make use of it.

Rhyhiem's mother, Pretana Morgan, called for a stop to devastating violence yesterday

'It's been going on for three years now around here. We've got these Peckham boys that come round here and they're always coming here and attacking our children.

'They come with weapons. I don't know how they do it. They seem to always drive around here and attack our children when they're just relaxing or enjoying a BBQ.

Miss Morgan, who has a six year-old daughter and is separated from Rhyhiem's father, was sitting in a park near her Southwark home when a friend told her that there had been a shooting nearby.

When she arrived at the scene she realised her son was the victim when she spotted his distinctive hair style.

She added: 'I couldn't ask for a better son. My son was a very handsome boy.. He's got so much potential. He was coming from a being mentor with young children and trying to make a difference when this happened.

'I keep telling him to do the right thing. My son is a good boy. He's so loyal. He was just trying to focus and trying to be an architect, he was not a bad child.'

The fatal shooting - the second in the capital in less than a week - took place a day after US President Donald Trump compared a London hospital to a 'war zone'.

Lacey Main, Rhyhiem's godmother, blamed gangs from other parts of London on the escalating violence.

'If you go on social media you will see them boasting of the things they have done,' she said. 'They will tell you they will come to your estate and they will come for you. This is known to the police. The police are fully aware of this group. The boys will come over here and create tension.

'I've seen a boy with a Rambo knife come up this area and I've called the police. They then put him right back on the street the next day.' She claimed Rhyhiem was followed by a gang in a BMW and then shot through the window with a shotgun.

Miss Main said the same gang have previously chased her godson into her home last year.

'They were wearing balaclavas and were carrying machetes and swords,' she said. 'Rhyhiem ran into my house and they said, 'I want Rhyhiem, we're gonna kill him. Send him out'. We went to court and identified the boys.

'The face of England is changing, everywhere you go you have beautiful houses being built, but you can't build beautiful houses when the streets are paved with blood.'

Rhyhiem's best friend Abigael Adeoye, 17, said: 'We were friends from when we were young at primary school.

'He was really bubbly, he used to message me and say 'Abigael come and see me'.

'I should have told him to stay at home yesterday.'

Scotland Yard appealed for witnesses to come forward yesterday and said no arrests have been made.

Two schoolboys, aged 13 and 15, were found shot yards from each other on a suburban London street at lunchtime yesterday.

In the latest grim incident in a bloody year for the capital, police and ambulances were called after the boys were shot in wapparently related incidents.

It appeared the shootings happened after a fight between youths got out of control. Minutes later up to six ambulances and a large number of police officers raced to the scene. The youngsters were taken to different hospitals.

Last night bloodsoaked clothes remained strewn on the corner of a road off Wealdstone High Street in Harrow, north-west London. One victim was found on the high street, the other on a side road.

Several hours after the shooting passers-by could still see a grey Adidas hoodie and a white T-shirt on the pavement next to dried pools of blood. A first aid kit was abandoned nearby.

A shocked shopkeeper said she saw a group of four to five youths fighting outside her shop before one suddenly collapsed in a pool of blood.

The witness, who asked not to be named, added: 'It all happened so fast. It was really frightening. We saw a group of people fighting and shouting loudly and suddenly there was someone on the floor covered in blood. People rushed out to help and there was a lot of panic. It was horrible.'

Another shopkeeper said they thought a bullet had grazed the back of a boy's head and that he was 'lucky to be alive'.

Two boys, aged 13 and 15, were shot in broad daylight in Wealdstone High Street in Harrow at 1.15pm yesterday

A 20-year-old man was stabbed to death in Luton yesterday. Emergency services were called to Bishopscote Road at 4.40pm, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene

Man, 22, found with gunshot wounds in New Cross Road, south east London at just before 6.30pm on Sunday (pictured)

The manager of a betting shop, who did not give his name, said he was walking past on his lunch break and saw people gathered around a black youth on the ground outside Specsavers. He said: 'He was holding his head down. I could not see his face but could see his white T-shirt was proper covered in blood. He was sitting calmly as the paramedics were looking after him.'

The man described Wealdstone as 'a kind of rough area and it can be a bit aggressive'.

He added that 'seeing police around here is just another day' and he was used to seeing boys 'just hanging around in the street'.

Another witness said he heard two gunshots before he rushed out of his shop to see a gang of youths crowded around the injured boy.

'It sounded like a pistol or a revolver,' he said. 'The boy looked 16 perhaps. Blood was coming out the back of his neck and down the front of his chest.

'The group looked like the gangs I have seen around here. They are just school kids. They seemed to be his friends. One was putting a sponge against his neck, which had turned red. It was completely soaked in blood.

'They were shouting and running up and down the street.'

Other residents expressed concern for their safety amid an increase in the number of drug gangs in the area.

Mohammed Fahmy, 30, said: 'It doesn't feel safe here. It's getting worse. I see drug dealers out here every day. Most of them are teenagers. Even the smallest are selling drugs.

'This is normal for us now. It makes you wonder what the police are doing. There needs to be more cameras and more police on the street.' A Scotland Yard spokesman said the 13-year-old suffered a shotgun pellet wound to the head.

Both boys suffered head injuries but neither was thought to be in a life-threatening condition, she added. Asked if the incidents were linked, she said that was one line of inquiry.

Meanwhile, police are appealing for information after a man was shot in Clayton, Manchester.

Police were called to report of a man shot on Vale Street shortly before 2.45pm on Monday.

A man in his late-teens was with his friends, when he was shot in his leg. He has now been taken to hospital for treatment of his serious injuries.

Tragic death toll: The rising number of lives taken on the streets of London in 2018

JANUARY - 12 deaths, including one late on December 31

31 December, Kyall Parnell, 17: Stabbed to death in Lambeth

1 January, Steve Frank Narvaez-Arias, 20: Stabbed in the chest on New Year's Day at a flat party in a council estate off Old Street in Islington, north London. After moving to the UK from Ecuador, the 20-year-old was reading physics and aerospace at Hertfordshire University and hoped to become a pilot

3 January, Elizabeta Lacatusu, 44: Found bleeding to death on Norfolk Road, in Ilford, after she had her throat slashed. She worked at a restaurant in the east London town and was returning home when she was stabbed to death

6 January, Vijay Patel, 49: Mr Patel was beaten to death in Barnet

Yaya Mbye, 26, was stabbed in Hackney on January 28 (left). Right, Daniel Frederick, 34, was killed metres from his home in Hackney after attending a hospital appointment for his pregnant partner on January 8

8 January, Daniel Frederick, 34: Daniel was killed metres from his home in Hackney after attending a hospital appointment for his pregnant partner

9 January, Dami Odeyingbo, 18: Stabbed in Bromley

11 January, Harry Uzoka, 25: Harry, who was on the books of Premier Model Management and had modelled for brands including Mercedes and Zara - was stabbed in Shepherd's Bush. Neighbours reported a shout of 'hand it over' in the melee which involved several men

24 January, Seyed Azim Khan, age unknown: Died from a head injury in Redbridge

Khader Saleh, 25, (left) was stabbed in the Hammersmith and Fulham area on January 31. Right, Dami Odeyingbo, 18, was stabbed in Bromley on January 9

28 January, Yaya Mbye, 26: Stabbed in Hackney

29 January, Juan Olmos Saca, 39: Died six days after being found stabbed at an address in Peckham

31 January, Lily-Mai Saint George, one: One-year-old Lily-Mai was found dead in Haringey. The Met Police say her cause of death remains unknown

31 January, Khader Saleh, 25: The 25-year-old was stabbed in the Hammersmith and Fulham area

FEBRUARY - 14 deaths

3 February, Kwabena Nelson, 22: Ambushed in Tottenham in the early hours where he was fatally stabbed

3 February, Hasan Ozkan, 19: Stabbed to death in Abbey Road, Barking

5 February, Juan Olmos Saca: Died in hospital after being stabbed in Peckham

8 February, Hannah Leonard, 55: Fatally stabbed in Brays Tower, Primrose Hill

11 February, Sabri Chibani, 19: Stabbed in Streatham Common

12 February, Bulent Kabala, 41: The taxi driver was shot dead in a 'targeted hit' on a roundabout in Barnet

Elizabeta Lacatusu, 44, was found bleeding to death on Norfolk Road, in Ilford, after she had her throat slashed on January 3

13 February, Saeeda Hussain, 54: Found with critical injuries at an address in Ilford and pronounced dead at the scene

14 February, Promise Nkenda, 17: Fatally stabbed in Newham, east London

15 February, Mark Smith, 48: Mr Smith was found injured in Chingford, and died shortly afterwards

17 February, Lewis Blackman, 19: Lewis, who grew up on the Peckwater estate in Kentish Town, was killed in Kensington. Witnesses told how a gang of about eight youths, some armed with sticks, shouted 'let's chase him down', before he was stabbed

17 February, Josef Boci, 30: Jozef was beaten up in the street in Greenwich and died in hospital

Hannah Leonard, who was 55, was found dead on February 9 in a flat in Camden, North London

19 February, Rotimi Oshibanjo, 26: Rotimi was fatally stabbed inside a property in the Halliday Square housing estate

20 February, Sadiq Mohamed, 20: The aspiring accountant was found with serious stab wounds in Malden Road, in Belsize Park

20 February, Abdikarim Hassan, 17: Abdikarim died in the street after being attacked in Camden

20 February, name unknown, 24: Shot in Westminster

25 February, Michael Boyle, 44: Stabbed in Southwark. Mr Boyle, from Galashiels, Scotland died of multiple organ failure after being stabbed at a property in Southwark. He was found on February 25 but died on March 10

MARCH - 23 deaths

1 March, Christopher Beaumont, 42: Stabbed in Hammersmith and Fulham

5 March, Kelva Smith, 20: Found stabbed in South Norwood, Croydon and pronounced dead at the scene

5 March, Laura Cecilia Navarrete De Figueira, 47: Police launched a murder investigation after Laura Cecilia Navarrete De Figueira was found with stab wounds at her home in Twickenham. An hour earlier the body of her husband Figueira de Faria and the bodies of Claudio, 10, and Joaquin, seven, were discovered on the beach at Birling Gap, in Eastbourne, East Sussex

8 March, Kelvin Odunuyi, 19: Shot in Haringey

12 March, Julian Joseph, 36: Murdered in Lewisham, cause of death as yet unknown

13 March, Nikolay Glushkov, 68: Russian businessman was found dead in his home in New Malden. He died from compression to the neck

14 March, Lyndon Davis, 18: The youngest to have been killed in March, was found suffering from a single stab wound in Chadwell Heath, east London

14 March, Joseph Williams-Torres, 20: Killed as he sat in a stationary car in Essex Close, Walthamstow

16 March, Naomi Hersi, 36: Stabbed in Hounslow. Hersi, who lived as a trans woman called Naomi, was pronounced dead at the scene after being found with knife injuries in Hounslow

17 March, Russell Jones, 23: Ambushed outside shops near Ponders End station, in Enfield and stabbed and shot to death

18 March, Tyrone Silcott, 42: The father-of-two died from knife wounds after a St Patrick's Day party. It is alleged the car mechanic got into a row over two girls at a party in Homerton and was attacked

19 March, Balbir Johal, 48: Died after being stabbed in Southall

Hersi Hersi (left), who lived as a trans woman called Naomi, was pronounced dead at the scene after being found with knife injuries at Heathrow Palace in Hounslow. Russell Jones, 23, became the eighth person in a week to be killed in London when he was ambushed outside shops near Ponders End station, Enfield Read

19 March, Jermaine Johnson, 41: Found with stab injuries and pronounced dead at the scene in Walthamstow

20 March, Beniamin Pieknyi, 20: Believed to have jumped in to the fight in a bid to save his friend during the altercation at the Stratford Centre in east London. The 20-year-old, who only arrived in Britain two months ago from Romania, died in his best friend's arms after being chased and stabbed by a gang in the busy shopping centre

25 March, Abraham Badru, 26: Gunned down in Hackney. The university graduate, who was murdered in Dalston, east London, was awarded the National Police Bravery Award in July 2009

25 March, awaiting formal ID, 59: Person found dead in Barking & Dagenham

26 March, David Potter, 50: Found stabbed to death in a property on Tooting High Street

29 March, Reece Tshoma, 23: Reece, from Barking in east London, was stabbed in the neck in Greenwich before being rushed to hospital by his friend where he died

30 March, Leyla Mtumwa, 36: Leyla was found dead with stab wounds to the neck and chest at an address in Haringey

APRIL - At least 11 deaths

1 April, Devoy Stapleton: Stabbed at as he made his way home from a night out in Wandsworth. Police found him in a pool of his own blood after being called to the middle-class suburb of Earlsfield, south west London

2 April, Tanesha Melbourne, 17: Tanesha was gunned down near her home in Tottenham, north London in front of horrified friends and family. It is thought she was caught in the crossfire of a ruthless gang war

2 April, Amaan Shakoor, 16: The teenager was shot in the face in Walthamstow, north London, and police have now confirmed he died from his injuries in hospital

4 April, Henry Vincent, 37: Burglary who died from stab wound after raiding pensioner's house

4 April, Babatunde Akintayo Awofeso dies after row on Upper Clapton Road, east London.

4 April, Israel Ogunsola, 18, dies in Hackney after being stabbed. The victim approached police who performed first aid but he died at the scene after 25 minutes.

12 April, John Maclean, 35, stabbed at a flat in the Isle of Dogs. A 25-year-old has been charged with his murder.

15 April, Raul Nicolaie, 26: Found at with stab injuries in Colindale, north London. A 34- year-old woman was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder

15 April, an unnamed woman in her 30s was stabbed to death in Sudbourne Road, Brixton, south London. A man in his 20s has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

16 April - Sami Sidhom, 18, is stabbed to death in the street in Forest Gate.

21 April - Man, 20, named locally as Kwesi, was stabbed to death about a hundred yards from Jeremy Corbyn's home in North London

23 April - Aaron Springett, 32, died after a street fight outside Paddy Power bookies in Morden

May

May 1 - A man in his thirties is shot dead outside Queensbury Tube station.

May 5 - Rhyhiem Ainsworth Barton was murdered on Warham Street, Southwark