The family of a teenage student gunned down as he cycled through an east London estate today told of their devastation.
David Adegbite, 18, was ambushed by a gang who surrounded him in a car park in Barking before shooting him in the head.
The former Havering College student, known to his friends as Dutch, was attacked in the St Ann’s estate shortly after 7pm on Sunday as children played nearby.
Friends today described him as a “loving, family boy” who was “in the wrong place at the wrong time”.
An 18-year-old, who gave her name as Mary, said: “He was such a smart guy, really clever and good at maths, he was due to start university.
“He was no gangster or drug dealer, he was a good family guy. He always talked about how much he loved his mother and wanted to make her proud.
“He was popular with everyone. I just can’t believe there are people out there in London with guns, you expect it in America but not here.”
Speaking outside his home in Dagenham, a relative of Mr Adegbite said the family were “very, very devastated” by his death.
Friends lay flowers near the scene of the shooting which spelled out his nickname Dutch in front of the floral tributes.
One said: “He was not aggressive at all. He was just funny. He was a good footballer at school and was always well liked. He didn’t appear to have any enemies, he was a peaceable sort of guy. He was very cool.”
Another said: “He was a good friend and a good guy. We were planning to go to university together and he was going to do ICT (information and communications technology). He was a bright happy person, this does not make any to any of us.”
The teenager went to Dagenham Park school before attending Havering College where his friends said he did well in his A levels.
He was visiting friends when he was killed and had previously lived on the estate.
Two 20-year-old men have arrested in connection with the shooting and police said that enquiries were continuing.
Witnesses told how children playing nearby dived for cover after two shots were heard shortly after 7pm on Sunday.
One said: “There were two shots, it was so loud. There were children on green space playing nearby and everyone dived for cover. It was really frightening. We just wanted to make sure the kids were all okay.”
Local police officers, firearms officers and paramedics found the 18-year-with a gunshot wound to the head.
He was taken to an east London hospital where he had emergency surgery, but he died from his injuries.
He is the third teenager to be killed in London this year.
