A murder investigation has today been launched after dozens of thugs armed with baseball bats were seen near a railway track where a teenage boy was battered to death.
Police say 16-year-old boy Shanur Ahmed was found dead just before 8.40am yesterday morning, hours after his family had reported him missing from their east London home.
He had suffered head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene near Gallions Reach Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station.
Shanur’s grieving relatives were distressed to find potential evidence left at the muddy crime scene today – including the glasses he was wearing on the day he was killed – several hours after police had taken down the cordon.
His father and uncles called Met Police detectives back to the murder scene where the family found fresh blood, a spanner and Shanur’s glasses by the bushes where his body was found yesterday morning.
The family also found tissues discarded on the ground which they say belonged to Shanur.
Murder Squad detectives are trying to establish if reports of around 30 youths – some armed with potential weapons – spotted near the station on Monday night may be linked to Shanur’s death.
Shanur Ahmed, 16, was found dead just before 9am yesterday
Forensic investigators are pictured scouring the scene where 16-year-old Shanur Ahmed was found dead with head injuries in Beckton, east London on Tuesday morning
Shocked commuter Lucy Farrell, 25, who lives in Docklands, east London, said: ‘I was waiting for the train on my way to the doctor’s when I noticed a DLR cleaner standing in the field with a long item.
‘At first, I thought it might have been dumped rubbish, but when I looked closer I realised it was a body.
‘I thought he was in a body bag, but then I saw his hand.
‘It was a young man and he was laying flat, face down in the grass with his hands by his sides.
‘There was a muddy trail as if he had been dragged there.
‘The cleaner was on the phone for a while and she was shaking him, but nothing was happening. I think she must’ve called 999.
‘She was trying to speak to him, but he wasn’t responding.
‘He was wearing all black and he still had his black rucksack on so he might have even been a schoolboy.’
Officers (one pictured) were scrambled to the scene at 8.38am yesterday and were forced to close nearby DLR station Gallions Reach until 6pm
She added: ‘Where he was, you can’t walk through. What was he doing there?
‘I only saw him as I was on the platform above, overlooking the area.
‘It’s just so sad to think of what might have happened to him. He could have been there all night before the cleaner found him in the grass.
‘The police said he was deceased, but they didn’t know what happened. It’s just so sad.’
Shanur’s father wept under an umbrella in the rain as relatives laid flowers at the scene today.
Paying tribute to his nephew, Asad Ahmed described Shanur as ‘every parent’s dream child’ who loved games and football, and was looking forward to passing his driving test.
The 40-year-old said it was ‘disgraceful’ for the family to come to the murder scene to find the glasses his nephew was wearing still on the ground.
Mr Ahmed said: ‘He was a child every mother would want, every parent’s dream child.
‘We know they were his glasses because his dad buys everything for him and as soon as we got here, we saw them.
‘Having to come here and see what we are seeing is disgraceful.
‘To actually come here and find Shanur’s glasses that he was wearing with blood spatters on the ground is very distressing and disturbing for us as a family.
‘There is also the tissue that he used at home which must have been in his pocket. It is the tissue all the family use and that we are using here today.
‘I spoke with the police officer and he said they had not finished the search. I said it should be cordoned off.
‘How much have the police and forensics actually done to lead to any conviction?
‘From what we understand at the moment, there has been a lack of experience within the police and the protocols may not have been followed.
‘It was reported to me officers might not have been as experienced due to the time it was reported to them.’
Mr Ahmed said Shanur was reported missing on Monday night when his family gave information to the police, from appeals on Snapchat.
He said Shanur might have still been alive had the police deployed a search party, but that he was not found until the following morning at around 8.30am.
Mr Ahmed said: ‘They were actually being given leads to say where this child might be. We were getting phone calls to say he might be by the station.
‘Police should have deployed a search party and perhaps a helicopter on Monday night and perhaps at that point, he may still have been alive.
‘At around 6pm or 7pm we understood that Shanur had gone missing but it was only at 10pm that we actually set out to search for him, as that was very out of character for him.
‘We told police we believed he was in this area, after friends put out an appeal on Snapchat.
‘My brother even passed by this train station three times, not knowing Shanur was there.
‘We were passing information to police who said ‘we have got enough information, we do not need any more.’
‘The superintendent of the case, the police liasion and the murder team say they were doing everything they can for us.’
But he added: ‘They are not doing everything.
‘Evidence has been left on site at the scene. It has just been treated as another knife crime, another young life that could have possibly been saved.
‘The area was cordoned off yesterday and the station was shut down until the evening.
‘For us to come here and pay our respects at a place where Shanur possibly passed away and find evidence left here is very, very distressing.’
Shahed Ahmed, 44, another uncle, said: ‘The forensics tent was right here, they have already taken it away. Why?
‘Here there is fresh blood, a spanner which could be a murder weapon and my nephew’s glasses.’
Detectives called back to the murder scene by Shanur’s relatives told the family the spanner was examined and deemed to be unconnected.
Referring to the other items found, a member of the investigation team said: ‘We cannot say why they were not taken.’
The teen’s glasses were placed into an evidence bag as Shanur’s relatives watched on in the rain.
Paramedics were first called to reports of an ‘unresponsive male’ found on an area of scrubland, at the rear of Gallions Reach station just before 8.40am yesterday.
Shanur had been reported missing by his family in the early hours of Tuesday when he did not return to their house in Manor Park, around four miles from where his body was found.
His ‘devastated’ family are being supported by specialist officers. A post-mortem will be scheduled in due course.
Detectives say a call was made to police at 7.50pm on Monday night where a member of the public reported seeing a group of about 30 youths carrying baseball bats near Gallions Reach station.
Murder Squad detectives are trying to establish if reports of around 30 youths – some armed with potential weapons – spotted near the station on Monday night may be linked to Shanur’s death
Officers attended and searched the area, but could find no trace of the suspects.
Detectives are working to see if the murder is linked to the group of youths.
They are asking anyone who was in the area of Gallions Reach on Monday evening to contact police.
Homicide detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime are investigating.
Detective Chief Inspector Larry Smith, said: ‘A young teenage boy has died and his family and friends are devastated.
‘They want answers and they deserve all the help the public can give them.
‘We need anyone with information to tell us what they know. In particular, we want to speak to anyone who was in the vicinity of Gallions Reach at around 8pm on Monday.
‘If you were a passing motorist using a dashcam you may have recorded something vital, please make contact. My officers are ready to take your call and you will be fully supported.’
Shanur was the second teenager to be murdered in London this year.