A gunman sparked panic after firing shots in a London park that was busy with families, hitting an 11-year-old girl and wounding three other people.
The girl was hit in the leg by a pellet, while a woman, 30, was struck in the back. Two teenagers later walked into hospital with pellet injuries from the same incident. None of those struck were seriously hurt.
Police were called to Figges Marsh park in Mitcham at 5.40pm yesterday after reports of shots being fired.
One witness said: “It was manic. There was loads of people at the park.
“Two groups of boys got into an altercation, that’s when everything started going mad and one started shooting at the others.
“It wasn’t until everyone in the park heard ‘pop pop’ like gunshots that they started to scatter.” The woman, who asked not to be named, said people “dropped to the floor” fearing that a gunman had opened fire.
She said: “Everyone just ran in panic. This guy was running with a long gun in his hand like he belonged in a war zone.
“It’s absolutely unbelievable. One woman got shot about three times and a little girl got shot in the leg.
“They don’t care, I mean it was in broad daylight, in a park packed full of people and families.”
A Scotland Yard spokesman said officers were investigating, adding: “A large group of males had been seen in the area prior to the shots being discharged and enquiries are ongoing to locate these individuals.”
Witnesses or anyone with information are asked to call police on 101 and quote CAD5607/24March, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
