Dagenham dad fears ‘crossfire’ casualties after shooting
RESIDENTS who mistook gun shots for fireworks spoke of their concerns after a man was found injured on their doorstep.
The incident happened opposite St Alban’s Church on the corner of Vincent Road and Urswick Road, Dagenham, where several police and ambulance vehicles arrived at around 8pm to reports of shots being fired.
They found a 31-year-old man who had sustained gun shot injuries to the leg. He was taken to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, where his injuries were said to be not life-threatening.
A resident, who only gave his name as Paul, said he was now worried for his two children, two boys aged 10 and 13.
“It’s disgusting. My kids go that way to the shop. They could have been caught up in the crossfire.
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“People were just coming out of their houses and asking ‘what’s going on’. This mustn’t be swept under the carpet - what if there is a revenge shooting?”
He explained that he had just come home from Lakeside Shopping Centre with his boys and his “other half” and added:
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“There were armed police were everywhere. They had a person in the back of the ambulance and escorted him to the hospital. The road was shut off for ages and I had to use another route to get home.
Other residents seemed less concerned about the incident.
Kamar Richards, 16, of Vincent Road, said: “I thought it was fireworks. then I thought something had happened to one of my friends. I made a few phone calls and everything was fine.”
Another Vincent Road resident, Alan Stainsbury, said: “You heard crack, crack and that was it. I looked out and I saw a guy working on a car. Police came in from everywhere.
“It’s a young estate now. Things used to happen when I was young and life goes around in cycles. You just have to get on with things.”
A police spokeswoman said that inquiries were continuing and that a Trident team had been informed of the incident.
