Two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with a drive-by shooting in north London last spring that killed a 17-year-old girl.
Tanesha Melbourne-Blake was standing with a group of friends on Chalgrove Road in Tottenham at about 9.30pm on 2 April last year when a car pulled up and its occupants opened fire.
The two suspects, aged 18 and 22, were arrested on Thursday and were subsequently released under investigation, with the elder bailed until mid-April, according to the Metropolitan police. A 31-year-old man arrested days after the shooting remained under investigation, the force said.
Melbourne-Blake’s killing came during a series of shootings, stabbings and beatings in the area last year. The gunmen fired at least two shots, one of which hit the teenager in the upper body, with the other hitting a building nearby.
Melbourne-Blake’s mother arrived on the scene before paramedics, and was on hand while they operated on her daughter under a medical tent in the street for more than an hour to try to save her life.
Hakeem Blake, Tanesha’s brother, said his sister had been in the “wrong place at the wrong time”.
Mark Blake, a cabinet member for community safety at Haringey council, said there was a fearful atmosphere in the local community.
He called on the the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, to invest in mediation services to try to counter animosity between young people. “We’ve got to look at developing those sort of interventions and I’m frustrated because that is not happening,” he said.
