Three people have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder after a gunshot was reported on Pownall Road, Haggerston.
Jeffrey Gyimah, 19, Jardel Jones, 20, and Ahmed Salem, 18, appeared at Thames Magistrates’ Court on 12 March following their arrest the previous day.
The charges relate to an incident on 31 January, when police were called to Pownall Road, E8, following reports of a gunshot. Scotland Yard has since reported that no one was harmed.
An investigation was launched with officers suspecting gang rivalry. The three men were taken into custody after eight East London addresses were raided on the morning of 11 March. Backed by specialist firearms officers, police seized weapons and drugs from the premises, according to the Hackney Gazette.
The investigation, described as “painstaking” by Detective Chief Superintendent Marcus Barnett from Central East Command Unit, was led by officers from the Central East Gangs task force.
A total of eight arrests were made, including six men and two women aged between 18 and 22. While Gyimah, Jones and Salem were charged, the other five people arrested were released pending further investigation.
In a statement shared via social media on 11 March, Barnett said: “I want to send a reassurance message to the community in Hackney, but actually across the Met; we are determined to suppress violence and we will stop at nothing to do so to keep you and the community safe.”
East London police have been investigating gang warfare since November, when a female passerby was caught in a crossfire in Westgate Street, nearby to Broadway Market, leaving her fighting for her life. However, police say the two incidents are not linked and their enquiries continue.
