A 16-year-old boy has become the youngest murder victim in London so far this year after he was fatally shot.

The teenager, who was shot in the face in Walthamstow, east London, at around 10pm on Monday night, died in hospital with his family by his bedside on Tuesday evening.

Speaking near the scene of the shooting at Walthamstow Leisure Centre, a man who gave his name only as Osman, 32, said of Amaan Shakoor: “He was just a good lad. He wasn’t involved in gangs or drugs or anything like that.

“It was a case of mistaken identity. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. There are gang wars going on and this young lad has just unfortunately got caught up in it.

“He was in his last year at school studying for his GCSEs. He had his whole future ahead of him.”

Osman said the youngster was just a normal boy who was into football and loved hanging out with friends and going out to eat.

Shirley Chase, 78, who lives a few doors away from Amaan’s family in Walthamstow, said he knew the youngster who was “very pleasant”.

He said: “I have been to see the family. They are very, very sad. He is only 16. I would see him walking up and down the street. I have been seeing him since he was a kid.

“It is just such a waste of life. I have been here since 1969 and the violence has got worse. If they cut all the funds, what do you expect? They have cut all of it to all services.”

His death came after that of Tanesha Melbourne, 17, who was gunned down around 30 minutes earlier just three miles away in Tottenham. They were both apparently tragic casualties of gang violence.

There are 48 murders that have happened this year that are being investigated by Scotland Yard. Another that took place on New Year’s Eve but was recorded this year is included in official figures.

The deaths include those of Claudio Gabriel Figueira Navarrete,10, and Joaquin Alejandro Figueira Navarrete, 7, who were found alongside their father Adelino Gabriel Figueira de Faria, 57, at Birling Gap seafront in East Sussex on March 5.

Their mother Laura Cecilia Navarrete De Figueira, 47, was stabbed to death at their home in Twickenham, and the whole investigation is being carried out by Scotland Yard.

Acting Detective Chief Inspector Glenn Butler from Trident, Scotland Yard’s gang crime unit, said investigators are testing ballistics and recovering CCTV as they hunt for the Walthamstow killers.

He said: “I fully appreciate the alarm, shock and revulsion caused by this murder and other fatal shootings we have seen across London over the last few months.

“We are doing everything we can to identify the culprits and bring them to justice. We can’t do this alone. We need those within the community who have information about those involved to search their own conscience and call us with information.

“Detailed forensic testing including ballistic analysis and the recovery of local CCTV footage is in hand and my officers will be knocking on doors.”

London crime
People thought to be friends and family lay flowers at the scene on Chalgrove Road in Tottenham, north London, where Tanesha Melbourne died after she was shot on Monday evening (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Tanesha was shot in Chalgrove Road, Tottenham, north London, shortly before 9.30pm on Monday.

Her mother laid flowers at the scene on Tuesday, with a card reading: “To my baby Nesha. I’m gonna miss you so much, you’re always gonna be with me everywhere I go.”

It was signed “Love Mummy”.

Schoolfriend Candice Hassan, 17, said Tanesha was “in the wrong place at the wrong time”.

“Everyone knows Tanesha, she’s just a humble girl. It was just the wrong place at the wrong time. She didn’t deserve any of that.”

Tanesha’s aunt, who did not give her name, said: “We’re going to stop the shooting, we’re going to stop these stabbings.

“It’s not good enough. We’re going to bring this whole area to a standstill. My niece has gone now and my sister’s in turmoil. It’s terrible.”

Her uncle, Wayne Melbourne, told Sky News that his niece was a “good girl”.

“She’s finished her schooling and gone on to work,” he said. “She’s never hung around with any gang crime or anything.

“If you are going to shoot at someone shouldn’t you make sure you are pointing (the gun) at the right person?

“And if you hit the wrong person, shouldn’t you stop and hold your hands up? You should think about all the mums and sisters and brothers out there.”

Tanesha Melbourne
Tanesha Melbourne, who has been named locally as the 17-year-old girl who was shot dead in Chalgrove Road, Tottenham, north London on Monday night (PA)

The two shootings come amid rising concern over the level of violent crime in London.

In a third attack over the weekend, a 20-year-old man was fatally stabbed moments after leaving a bar in Ellerton Road, Wandsworth, in the early hours of Easter Sunday.

Billy Botton, 24, of Deeside Road, Wandsworth, has been charged with murder and is due to appear at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

In another separate murder investigation, a reward of £20,000 has been offered for information leading to the arrest of the killers of Abraham Badru, 26.

The son of a Nigerian MP, who had previously received a bravery award for saving a teenage girl from a sex attack, was shot in Hackney, east London, on March 25 after opening the boot of his car to look for a drink.