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A fun family day out with DJs, Caribbean food, face painting and carnival games turned to tragedy when a 15-year-old boy was shot dead near horrified children and parents.
Gunshots marred the joyous atmosphere, with some unable to distinguish them from the thunderous Soca carnival music blaring from the sound systems at the packed warm-up event for next month’s Notting Hill Carnival.
Others fled in panic, describing hearing multiple gunshots on Sunday night as hundreds of people gathered for the Caribbean food and music event ‘Park Lime’ at Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance, near Hazlewood Crescent.
Witnesses said a gunman emerged from the bushes and fired a warning shot into the air, forcing families to flee in all directions around 7:20 p.m. as the free Lime Park event was coming to a close.
The Metropolitan Police later found schoolboy Rene Graham with fatal injuries.
“Despite all the efforts of the emergency services, he was pronounced dead at the scene,” a statement read.
Four men, two aged 21 and the others aged 20 and 25, were arrested on suspicion of murder and remain in custody.
Forensic officers and sniffer dogs were seen patrolling the streets around the park on Monday, while several checkpoints had been set up to direct people in and out of the restricted area.
A man who lives right next to the park described the shooting at Lime Park as “tragic.”
“I was just around the corner when the shots rang out,” he said, asking not to be named. “There were multiple shots. It’s just tragic. It’s just kids. It’s just kids shooting kids.”
A witness told the Standard: “I heard two shots and then the boy fell to the ground. It sounded like he’d been hit in the chest. There was complete panic, everyone was running. Then there were sirens and police everywhere. It was a nice, trouble-free event, then it was carnage.”
Heather Morris was celebrating a six-year-old’s birthday as she does every year. She told the Independent: “The music was very loud, but the gunshots were even louder. I felt my hair stand on end. I knew something bad had happened.”
“My friend grabbed her kids and rushed out, leaving the picnic. The crowd was rushing in along with me. I was pretty shaken up when I got home.
“That bullet could have hit anyone, there were grandparents and babies all crammed in there.
“Bringing a weapon to an event like this with a mask on is bad intentions.
“As I was leaving, there were two teams of masked youths who outnumbered the security guards.
“They didn’t have a coastguard, it was terrible. There were young girls working security, they didn’t have bulletproof vests or dogs. There was no deterrent.”
Damian Ryan, 43, a priest at a church bordering the park, said he was not “completely shocked” by the news. “I wasn’t completely shocked, to be completely honest – I was heartbroken, absolutely heartbroken, so sad and maybe a little bit of misplaced anger.
“A few months ago there was a murder… a few hundred meters away someone was murdered.”
Other residents expressed anger at the shooting, which occurred in broad daylight in an area usually frequented by children. The same month, a 15-year-old boy “screamed in pain” after being shot in the leg alongside another teenager less than a mile away in Verity Close, Ladbroke Grove, on July 1.
The Metropolitan Police have not said whether the latest shooting was linked to last month’s deaths at the square, formerly known as Teletubbies Park because of the brightly coloured children’s playground surrounded by primary schools.
On Monday, a little girl walking with her mother was seen in tears as she lamented the closure of her favorite park.
“I want to go,” said the child. “Not today,” replied the mother, hastily leading her three children out of the park.
A police cordon stretches around the park, but from a vantage point, residents can still see the aftermath of the incident.
Crumpled food wrappers and cans are still strewn across the park after festival-goers fled the grounds in panic.
An empty children’s playground stands at the edge of the park.
Most residents in the area are frustrated by their inability to move around due to the cordon, which police say is expected to remain in place until at least the end of the day.
Elizabeth Campbell, leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council, said the shooting was “absolutely horrific and just horrific for the family”.
Asked what the council was doing to reduce violence in the area, Ms Campbell said: “We are making significant efforts.
“We have outreach teams that work with young people, we have a huge number of youth clubs, we have exceptional social work – so we are doing absolutely everything we can on our side as a council.”
Kensington and Bayswater MP Joe Powell called the attack “horrific news” in a statement released on X.
He wrote: “I am aware of the terrible news that a young boy was shot dead in Golborne this evening – and my thoughts are with his family.
“These senseless acts of violence must stop.”
