Fresh Calls to Fight Gun Crime After Latest Teenage Shooting

A teenager has been seriously injured in an east London shooting incident, which took place just minutes from where youth Adam Regis was killed last month.

The shooting which took place in Harold Road, Plaistow, close to Upton Park, West Ham United FC's stadium. The victim was a 19-year-old Asian man, who was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound and is said to be seriously ill.

One man has been arrested in connection to the shooting, police have reported, although enquiries are ongoing.

The latest incident has once again raised concerns over the increasing number of gun and knife attacks across Britain, particularly in London.

In the past two months at least six teenagers have been killed in London, the latest being just three-days ago, when 14-year-old Paul Erhahon died outside his home in Leytonstone, east London, after being attacked with a knife.

Less than a month ago, 15-year-old Adam Regis, nephew of former Olympic athlete John Regis, was stabbed to death at the junction of Boundary Road and Kingsland Road in Plaistow.

Cllr Alan Craig, leader of the Christian Peoples Alliance group on Newham Council, has called for urgent action by London's churches in response to the recent killings.

Craig said that youth violence is reaching "epidemic proportions" and that the authorities have simply run out of ideas and solutions.

"While the Government buries its collective head in the sand and claims the recent spate of teenage killings is nothing more than isolated incidents, it is time for the churches to step back into the public arena to promote their distinctive people-centred approach to young people and youth issues," argued Craig.

He praised the work of faith-based groups which is making successful inroads into youth gun and knife crime trends.

"Many churches are already bursting with people and activities that offer proven solutions to these intractable problems," said Craig. "The Glory House Football Academy, the flourishing Saturday supplementary schools, the Street Pastor scheme, the Eastside Young Leaders Academy and the Peace Alliance - all these are successful Christian initiatives at local level in east London that offer hope for young men, especially black young men, who are being failed by society."

In February, following a spate of gun attacks in the capital, Prime Minister Tony Blair recommended that the minimum age to receive a mandatory five-year jail sentence for possessing a gun could be reduced from 21 to 17.

Home Secretary John Reid said that police would not be able to tackle gun crime by themselves. He said, "If we truly want a no-gun Britain, a no-gun country, then we all have to work together. Not just the police, not just more powers, but parents and people in the local communities facing their responsibilities."