Clubbers flee after 'gangland' shooting

Clubbers fled after a suspected gangland killing today in which a 21-year-old man was shot at point-blank range outside a West End venue.

The attack was near Browns nightclub - frequented by celebrities such as Mick Hucknall and George Michael - in Great Queen Street.

It is understood staff at the club gave the victim refuge and first aid until paramedics arrived.

The victim, who has not been named, was taken to hospital where he was under armed guard but could not be saved.

Witnesses described "sheer panic" after hearing gunshots and seeing a man bleeding heavily as he ran from his pursuers.

The victim is believed to have been shot in the stomach after an argument with a group of men in a Mercedes.

Detectives from Operation Trident, Scotland Yard's unit dedicated to fighting black-onblack gun crime, arrested a woman who is believed to be the driver of the car, after the attack at 1.15am today.

The gunman is still thought to be at large.

A concierge at nearby Kingsway Hall Hotel said: "I was in the street directing cars into the hotel when I heard a loud bang. I looked around and saw a man running towards the hotel clutching his chest and screaming and shouting.

"Then I realised he had been shot. He jumped over the flowerpots in front of the hotel and kept on running to the end of the street.

"I saw a second man who was running after him. I don't know if this was the gunman or if it was a friend of his.

"They both went out of sight but there was general panic in the street. There were lots of people screaming and running from the direction of Browns nightclub."

Clubbers who had been in Browns at the time of the shooting also told of panic when the venue was evacuated.

One clubber, who was still at the scene later this morning waiting for a police cordon to be removed so he could get to his car, said: "Me and my friends were dancing upstairs then suddenly the lights flashed on and the bouncers started telling everyone to get out of the club.

"No one knew what was going on and there was sheer panic. As we crowded out of the doorway we could see a body lying in a pool of blood in the street outside.

"There were people running everywhere - it looked like people who were in the queue at the time of the shooting had run in every direction looking for cover. Within a few minutes the street was full of police cars and ambulances and we saw the paramedics working to save this guy's life in the road before they moved him into the ambulance and drove off.

"Before that, it seemed that the bouncers from Browns had been looking after him until the ambulance arrived.

"I don't know why the club was evacuated. The violence was all outside and I don't know if it had anything to do with people from the club. I think the management just decided to shut the club as a safety precaution, but the gunmen had obviously fled by that time."

A spokesman for the nightclub said: "This incident had absolutely nothing to do with Browns. All we know is that there was a violent assault outside the club but it did not involve any of our guests."

Residents were shocked when told about the shooting. One man in Wild Street said he had heard shouting in the night but did not realise what had happened until this morning.

He said: "There is often trouble in the early hours because of youngsters spilling out of nightclubs. You hear lots of disturbances and just tend to ignore them after a while."

It is unclear exactly where the attack took place and forensic science experts are examining a trail of blood left at the scene. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "There seems to have been some sort of argument between the victim and the people in the Mercedes. We are trying to piece together the exact sequence of events."

The arrested woman is in custody at a north London police station and is being questioned.

Police are appealing for witnesses from Browns.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in