Boy shot dead in south London by assailant dressed as delivery driver on moped

A 16-year-old boy killed in south London was shot dead by an assailant dressed as a food delivery driver on a moped.

The Metropolitan Police named the teenager as Lathaniel Burrell, with local residents paying tribute to him as a “very bright” pupil.

A witness told BBC London that a man dressed as a food delivery driver riding a moped took out a gun and fired when two boys came downstairs at a block of flats, while a man who said he was the victim’s uncle told the PA news agency: “They came on a moped dressed as Deliveroo drivers.”

Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Lee said: “This is a horrendous crime, which has shocked the local community and beyond. Our thoughts are with Lathaniel’s family and friends at this devastating time.

“We need the help of the public too – if you were in the local area please remember back to yesterday afternoon and come forward with any information, no matter how small.

“We are particularly keen to speak to anyone who has any mobile phone or dashcam footage from the area surrounding Paradise Road.”

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 using the reference 4116/4MAR or anonymously contact Crimestoppers.

A woman who said she knew the boy’s mother described the teenager as “very bright at school” and said his father worked at a nearby go-karting facility.

Another resident who knew Lathaniel told of her distress over the news, saying her own son had also died in a stabbing a few years ago.

And a young woman who lives nearby said: “This area is not safe at night. There are a lot of teenage boys that cause a lot of trouble who live around here.

“They hang around at night, play around with the cops. Things like playing with fireworks and running from the police. But it can get serious. Someone I know got stabbed some time last year.

“I think about where the cameras are when I am walking at night, but there are no cameras in that area (of the shooting).”

Speaking about the shooting, she said the attackers had “no shame as well, there is a primary school next door”.

A crime scene and cordons remain in place, with several police cars and officers stationed nearby.

The killing is the first fatal shooting in London so far this year. There were 13 in 2024 out of a total of 105 homicides recorded by the Metropolitan Police.

According to figures from mid-December, eight out of 104 killings in 2023 involved a gun, while there were 10 fatal shootings out of 104 homicides recorded in 2022.

During the same period the number of teenagers who have lost their lives to violence has fluctuated.

There were 12 teenage homicide victims in 2024, 21 in 2023 and 14 in 2022, down from 30 in 2021 out of a total 134 recorded homicides.

While fatal shootings are far less common than stabbings, there has recently been a national amnesty over a particular type of blank-firing gun that is converted by organised criminals to fire live rounds.

More than 1,000 Turkish-manufactured top-venting blank-firing guns were handed in during February in England and Wales.

Law enforcement officials found the weapons could be converted to fire live ammunition in around 20 minutes.