£20,000 reward on offer one year on from Walthamstow killing, reports James Cracknell Police have offered a £20,000 reward for anyone who can help catch […]By Waltham Forest Echo
Amaan Shakoor was killed outside Kelmscott Leisure Centre on 2nd April 2018
£20,000 reward on offer one year on from Walthamstow killing, reports James Cracknell
Police have offered a £20,000 reward for anyone who can help catch the person who murdered a Walthamstow teenager one year ago.
The family of 16-year-old Amaan Shakoor made an emotional appeal last month, on the anniversary of his death. He was shot outside Kelmscott Leisure Centre on 2nd April 2018 and later died in hospital.
Mohammed Shakoor, Amaan’s father, said: “It all seemed to happen so quickly. Going to the scene, being at the hospital, talking to the doctors, family and friends arriving at the hospital, being told there was no hope, being told that my beautiful son was surely going to die.
“We love Amaan very much and almost a year later we are struggling to carry on with life without him. Every day is a constant reminder of how much he meant to us and how much we all miss him.
“Amaan was still a child, he came from a good family and was raised with endless amounts of love and affection. He had a stable family and a good home. He was an innocent victim of a despicable and brutal crime.
“Our family will only gain some peace when the murderers of our beloved Amaan are serving a life sentence. Anyone who knows anything about what happened, however small please contact the police either directly or indirectly via Crimestoppers.”
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Police were called at around 10pm on Monday 2nd April 2018 to Markhouse Road. Officers and paramedics attended and Amaan was found injured outside the leisure centre along with a 15-year-old boy. They were both taken to an East London hospital, where Amaan died. The 15-year-old boy was treated for non-life threatening injuries. A post-mortem examination gave Amaan’s cause of death as gunshot injuries to the head.
Since the launch of the murder investigation by the Metropolitan Police’s Homicide and Major Crime Command, two people have been arrested, but both were subsequently released without charge. Detective Inspector Darren Jones said: “We believe Amaan was the victim of a targeted attack, with the chief suspects being two teenage males.
“Amaan was on the brink of an exciting time of his life and was a member of a close-knit, loving family. It is our understanding that Amaan was on the periphery of activity linked to gangs, and we believe his death may be linked to this.
“It is important to talk about this element of the investigation, as we believe the key to solving his murder is held by those he may have had links with through gang activity, whether this was directly, or indirectly.
“Nothing excuses or justifies the taking of a life, and Amaan’s death is a tragedy. At only 16 years old, he was callously shot in the head at close range. These individuals must be caught and removed from our streets.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Met Police’s incident room on 020 8345 1570 or via 101, quoting reference 6727/02APR2018. To give information anonymously contact the independent charity Crimestoppers:Call 0800 555 111 Visit crimestoppers-uk.org
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