Man wounded in shoot-out at London Fields festival

A 27 year old man was wounded as two groups shot at each other during a daytime festival attended by hundreds of families in an east London park.

The shooting happened at 1530 BST in London Fields, Hackney, at the junction of Shrubland Road and Forest Road.

A Met Police spokesman said: 'The man was taken to an east London hospital with what is believed to be a gunshot wound, '

'His injuries are believed to be life threatening. No arrests have been made.' he added.

Witness Statements

A BBC journalist said he saw one group of men chasing another group and then shots were fired between them.

One witness told DalstonPeople that there were two shots fired, one after another. She was in the park at the time, about ten metres away from the victim.

"Approximately 15 youths fled the scene, running through the crowds of people in the park. They ran towards the south of the park."

Another witness, Guardian Journalist Paul Lewis, who was at London Fields, left a message on Twitter, describing the chaos, which included armed police, air ambulance arrival and people ducking to the ground for cover. It is thought there was a battle between two groups.

An eyewitness, Tanya, said: "There was a guy to the right who just came out with a gun... (he) shot towards the floor.

"Then all of a sudden we realised that a guy has been shot just about another 50m away. So I ran over to see if he was OK.

"He had been shot kind of in the back and had an exit wound just near his belly."

No arrests have been made.

Mayor of Hackney Jules Pipe said: "Despite this very worrying incident, hundreds of people were able to enjoy the event in London Fields safely and without interruption."

The festival in London Fields was intended to kick off a series of summer events, called Parks for Life, across the borough's parks and gardens.

Hundreds of families had gathered for the day-long festival, organised by Hackney Council, to preview other events to be held in the borough's parks.