Chiswick Drug Turf War Feared After Two People Shot

Police obtain dispersal orders and extend stop and search in W4

Concerns are being raised about drug gang related violence spilling over into Chiswick after two people were shot this week in Acton.

Following the shootings the police obtained three separate orders to gain extra powers to disperse groups of people and stop and search which covered the Chiswick area.

Local sources suggest that the shootings may have been the result of a dispute between two rival gangs who regard Chiswick as part of their territory. We asked the police if this was the reason for the orders being obtained for the W4 area but all they have said up to this point is that they required after 'incidents of violence'.

On Sunday, 17 May at 9.43pm on East Acton Lane a 42-year-old woman received a gunshot wound to her foot and was taken to hospital. Officers were then called to Perryn Road at 12.35am on Tuesday, 19 May where they found an 18-year-old man had been shot. The man was taken to hospital, where his injuries were not found to be life threatening.

Later that same day detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command (Trident) supported by firearms officers, executed a search warrant at a residential address in Acton. A 19-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and firearms offences. He has been bailed pending further enquiries. The arrest is believed to relate to the Perryn Road incident.

This Thursday (21 May) the police reported that they had arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder and firearms offences; he remains in custody.

The police have confirmed that they regard the two shootings as linked and immediately following the first incident they obtained extra powers in the Acton and North Chiswick areas to stop and search suspects and order people to disperse.

A Section 60 order was obtained from 1.45am this Tuesday 19 May until 4.45pm for the W3 post code area and parts of W4 in London Borough of Ealing. This was granted in the middle of the night just an hour after the first shooting.

A Section 60 can only be authorised in certain circumstances. It must be approved by a senior police officer, in this case Inspector Wills, and must be based on credible intelligence that serious violence is possible in the locality or that persons are carrying offensive weapons in the area.

A Section 35 Dispersal Authority was also authorised by Inspector Ballard and ran from 11am Tuesday until 10.59am on Thursday 21 May. Section 35 is an additional temporary power that allows police officers to tell a person to leave an area and not return within 48 hours, for the purposes of removing or reducing crime or disorder.

Then later on 21 May the police obtained another Section 60 order authorised by Inspector Le Geyt which this time extended the area of operation to the whole of Chiswick running from 4pm to 5am the following day.

Some people locally have linked a spate of burned out cars to the recent gang related violence in the area. The police were unable to confirm a connection when we asked them.

Detectives are appealing for anyone with information about either of the shootings to contact police.

Any witnesses or anyone with any information is asked to call police on 101 or contact via Twitter @MetCC. Please quote CAD220/19May.

To give information anonymously contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.

May 24, 2020