Detectives have launched a murder investigation after a shooting in east London in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The incident occurred at around 3am on August 18, when officers were called to reports of gunshots on St Bartholomew's Road, Newham.
A man in his 40s was found inside a vehicle with gunshot wounds, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The man’s family have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.
A crime scene remained in place on Tuesday morning, with detectives working to establish the full circumstances of the incident.
No arrests have been made at this stage.
Police cordoned off the entirety of St Bartholomew’s Road and adjacent parts of Central Park Road.
A police evidence tent could be seen behind a white Toyota Prius, which had crashed into a black Range Rover.
The white car was damaged on its front left wheel which had collided with the Range Rover.
Three police vans and three forensic services vans were parked on the Barking Road end of the street.
Officers wearing blue forensics suits were seen going into the crime scene tent and later emerged carrying folding chairs and bags containing empty plastic bottles and carrier bags.
Plain-clothed police officers were seen making door-to-door inquiries on neighbouring streets.
Abdul Qadir, director of nearby estate agent ARQ homes, told the Press Association that the white Prius had collided with his black Range Rover.
He said: “Just past 3am my car alarm went off.
“My daughter heard the car alarm go off and she heard the shots, like a bomb. She heard the impact of two vehicles. And I heard people running off.
“It’s the third time my car’s been collided with – so I thought it’s 3am, I’m not going out to investigate.
“I just went back to sleep, because I know this happens around here.
“Then up to 10 minutes after I heard people gathering. They said someone had been shot.”
A man who lives nearby, who did not want to be named, said: “Around 3am or 4am I heard a crash and then a car alarm going on, and then it went off.”
He said he looked outside about an hour later but did not see anything.
A woman who lives a short distance from the police cordon said: “We heard a bullet noise first and then a car driving very quickly.
“We thought it was boys racing. We came to know in the morning someone had been shot.”
A woman, who did not want to be named, said she woke up to find the police cordon outside her house.
She said she had lived in the area for more than 50 years and usually felt safe.
She said crime was increasing in the area, but added: “It’s the same everywhere isn’t it?”
Another resident said: “It’s made me feel really uneasy, I was going to go to work this morning and didn’t because I didn’t want to leave the kids.
“It’s upsetting, I think this is the first time something like this has happened nearby. Generally we feel pretty safe, now we might not feel as safe.”
Detective Chief Inspector Dan Whitten, who is leading the investigation for the Metropolitan Police, said: “Firstly, our thoughts remain with the friends and family of the man who has sadly died.
“We know this incident will cause concern in the local area, and I want to reassure the community that my team and I are doing everything we can to determine what happened and trace those responsible. Those in the area will continue to see an increased police presence throughout the day while these enquiries continue.
“We are asking anyone with information, or who may have witnessed anything in the early hours of the morning, to please contact us. Any piece of information, no matter how small, could be vital to our investigation.”
Anyone with any information or footage that may assist the investigation has been urged to contact police on 101, quoting CAD797/18AUG, or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
It comes just a week after a shooting in Clapham which resulted in the death of a 25-year-old man.
Crime statistics released by the Metropolitan Police have shed light on which parts of London are seeing the highest levels of gun crime.
Newham was one of the boroughs with the highest number of gun related offences, with 76 recorded by the Met in the past year.
The data, taken from the Met’s monthly crime data statistics, shows that there were a total of 1,679 gun crime offences recorded by Met Police officers across the capital between August 2025 and July 2026.
This is down from 1,918 offences in the year previously, but is still comfortably above the 1,492 offences between August 2022 and July 2023, and the 1,624 offences between August 2023 and July 2024.
According to UK Government data there were 32 homicides by shooting in England and Wales between April 2024 and March 2025, accounting for 6% of all homicides.
