Stamford Hill: Woman shot in leg was not intended target - Met Police
A woman who was shot in the leg in north London was not the intended target, the Met Police has said.
Officers were called to Reizel Close, Stamford Hill, at about 19:40 BST on Tuesday to reports of a shooting.
The woman was taken to an east London hospital where her condition was assessed as not life-threatening.
No arrests have been made and officers are not treating it as a hate crime. Anyone with information or footage has been urged to contact police.
Det Insp Dave Hickford of the Met's Specialist Crime Command said: "We are working hard to establish the full circumstance surrounding this incident and following initial inquiries we do not believe that the victim was the intended target."
Fingertip searches
Det Ch Sup James Conway, local policing lead for Hackney and Tower Hamlets, added it was an "extremely concerning" incident which "illustrates just how indiscriminate the danger of gun crime can be".
He added: "This incident created additional concern, given the proximity to our large Jewish community in the Stamford Hill area.
"I can confirm that there is no indication that this offence was hate-related and it was not directly connected with our Jewish communities or international events."
Speaking from the scene on Wednesday afternoon, BBC London reporter Guy Lynn said: "I've seen fingertip searches taking place - many officers crawling on the pavement where we are."
One resident said: "It's quite a nice area - very unusual - very safe road here normally."
Another local told the BBC she wasn't surprised it had happened but said it was "sad".
A third resident said: "It's frightening - but happens all the time in London - it just happens to have happened here last night."
Analysis by Sonja Jessup, BBC London home affairs correspondent
According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, police-recorded gun crime in London has risen by 20%, from 1,009 offences in the year ending December 2022 to 1,208 offences last year.
However, figures from the Met Police show it's below pre-pandemic levels, and well below the levels we were seeing 15 years ago.
When it comes to homicide, fatal shootings are far less common than stabbings, but three young men have been killed using a firearm this year, and last year there were seven fatal shootings, including the killing of 42-year-old Lianne Gordon in Hackney in December. She is said to have died trying to protect her family.
In March, two women were injured by shotgun pellets in Clapham when a weapon was fired by a moped rider being pursued by police, and in January of last year, four women and two children were hurt when a sawn-off shotgun was fired into a crowd of mourners in Euston who had been at a memorial service.
Specialist firearms officers and London Ambulance Service (LAS) responded to the callout.
An LAS spokesperson said the woman was treated at the scene before being taken to a major trauma centre as a priority.
Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk
