So far no one from the party has contacted police By Victoria Munro
The police cordon at Cheney Row Park the following day (credit: Penny Dampier)
Police investigating the shooting of a local 28-year-old at an “innocent-looking” park party attended by children say they have four suspects but no witnesses yet.
Around 100 people were found at a party in Cheney Row Park in Walthamstow after gunshots were heard at around 12.30am on 24th July.
Sam Brown arrived at hospital slightly later, along with an injured 30-year-old man, but tragically died from the bullet wound to his chest.
Four men – including the man who arrived at hospital with Sam – have been arrested on suspicion of his murder and released on bail while police continue to investigate.
They include a 26-year-old man, arrested on 27th July, and a 25-year-old and 22-year-old arrested the following day.
Sam Brown (credit: Met)
Despite a number of enquiries, including a public appeal for witnesses, officers are still yet to receive information from anyone who was at the park when the shooting happened.
Detective Chief Inspector Kelly Allen, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “Our initial enquiries suggest Sam was involved in an altercation with another group of people at the party shortly before his death and it’s my view that this resulted in him being shot.
“I urgently need to speak with everyone who was at the event and saw that altercation or the shooting. Even if you do not believe you saw anything significant, you need to come forward and speak with officers.
“To anyone considering whether or not to come forward to police, I ask you to put yourself in the position of Sam’s grieving mother and father. They deserve answers. Please do the right thing and make contact as soon as possible.
“I know that some people feel unable to speak the police, either through fear of reprisals or because of a lack of trust and I would like to reassure anyone who feels that way that any information would be treated confidentially.
“You can also contact the charity Crimestoppers, which is independent of the police. They won’t ask for your personal details, they can’t trace your phone number and they aren’t able to identify your computer’s IP address.”
Forensics investigating the following day (credit: Nadoya Reid)
A resident who saw the party earlier that day, who asked not to be named, told the Echo it looked like a birthday party and had a number of young children attending.
She said: “It looked quite innocent. There were maybe 100 to 200 people, mostly adults in their 20s and 30s. There were quite young kids there and they had hired a bouncy castle.
“[Later that night] I said jokingly to my friend ‘that sounded like gunshots’ but I thought it was something else like fireworks.”
Another resident in his early 50s, who also asked not to be named, said he didn’t know Sam personally but had seen him around the area.
He said: “I knew the party was going on because I heard the noise but, when I heard the loud bang and a lot of commotion, I knew something was wrong.
“I peeped through the window to see what was happening and could see people running around.”
He said it was common for people to have parties in that park and that he had organised a few himself there over the years.
He added: “I can’t recall hearing anyone being shot before in the area but there is a lot of crime and loitering, especially among young people.”
Provide information to detectives by calling 020 8345 1570. Alternatively, call 101 quoting CAD 267/24Jul. Images and video that are relevant to the investigation be uploaded here.
To contact the independent charity Crimestoppers call 0800 555 111 or submit information online here.
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