07/02/2007

Mistaken identity theory in teenager's shooting

Police have said that the murder of a church-going schoolboy in his bedroom in south London could have been a case of mistaken identity.

Michael Dosunmu, 15, was murdered at his home in Diamond Street in Peckham, after midnight on Tuesday. Two gunmen forced their way into the boy's house in what police have called a "targeted attack".

Michael's older sister was also in the house at the time of the shooting and was able to give the teenager first aid. However, Michael, who turned 15 on Sunday, died in hospital less than an hour later.

Michael was a regular at the Celestial Church of Christ in nearby Bird in Bush Road and also attended St Michael's Secondary School in Bermondsey.

Scotland Yard’s Operation Trident team, which investigates gun crime in the black community in the capital, is investigating the murder and officers said that no link had been found between the boy and local gangs.

A police spokesperson said: "The boy was not known to police before this incident and we are not linking this to gangs or any other incidents which have occurred in the pat few days. This does not appear to have been a botched burglary. I believe these premises were specifically targeted."

On Wednesday, it was later reported that police were linking Michael's murder to the fatal stabbing of a 21-year-old man in Southampton Way, just yards from Michael's home, on Saturday. A man has been charged with that murder.

(KMcA/SP)

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