‘Boy’ Arrested in Relation to London Shooting That Killed Mother, Injured Others

London police say they have arrested a “16-year-old boy” in relation to a shooting in Hackney this week.

A 16-year-old teen, unnamed but described by police as a “boy” was arrested on Friday morning in relation to a shooting in Hackney on Tuesday which, reports at the time stated, saw a mother gunned down in front of her children and others injured. The attack, the latest chapter in a long line of incidents underlining the deteriorating public safety situation in the British capital, resulted in the death of 42-year-old Lianne Gordon, and a 20-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy sustaining gunshot wounds.

The arrested teen is being held on suspicion of murder, police said in their statement. Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway said of the arrest: “This arrest demonstrates the progress the investigation is making and I hope it gives the local community confidence in the commitment we made on Wednesday to finding those responsible for Lianne’s murder and holding them to account.”
Police appealed to any witnesses to come forward with information.

Victim Lianne Gordon was described in a BBC report as a mother of two with a “heart of gold” well loved by the local community. The Daily Telegraph has reported the mother may have been shot in a case of mistaken identity and that a witness heard, after shouting and gunfire, a child scream “my mum’s been shot in the head”.

Crime is a significant and rising issue for those living in London, with crime levels under the leadership of mayor Sadiq Khan experiencing an upward trajectory, although fortunately, murders in the city are fractionally down this year over last. Khan has previously attempted to pass the buck on crime, claiming factors outside of his control — like the weather and the economy — are to blame for the upswing.

Attempting to weather a barrage of criticism over the issues on his watch Khan has dismissed traditional wisdom on approaches to crime lying in dealing with criminals, insisting London cannot simply “arrest our way out of the problem”, and in any case trying would be unfair — in his words — to “young black men”.

Trying a new approach, Khan has instead claimed that he brought down crime during his leadership, while actually, it has soared. The attempt to change the narrative may have backfired for him, as the non-partisan Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) fact-checked the statistics used, explaining they were “incorrect” and had “potential to mislead the public”.