Woman in her 40s tragically killed in drive-by shooting at church event, friends remember her as a remarkable individual

A woman in her 40s was shot dead in a drive-by shooting while attending a wake at a church, it has been revealed. 

The shooting happened in Brent, north-west London on Saturday night, leaving one woman dead and two men, both in their 30s, injured. 

Metropolitan Police has launched a murder investigation following the ‘truly shocking’ incident and there is an ongoing manhunt for the gunman.

Pastor Lawrence Larbie from the River of Life Elim Pentecostal Church revealed that a wake was taking place inside the church, scheduled to finish at 10pm. Unexpectedly, around 9.15pm, a commotion ensued as people urgently entered the building, reporting a shooting incident.

He told the newspaper: ‘The car just drove through. The victims were people attending the wake. They were probably on their way home.’

Reacting to the tragic news, Pastor Larbie expressed deep sorrow, stating, “You attend a wake and end up losing your life. It’s a sudden, irreversible loss.”

Paying tribute to the woman, who has not been named, a friend described her as ‘brilliant’.

She told The Sun: ‘She was a light in all of our lives. She adored her children and worked hard to give them a happy life.’  

Officers rushed to the scene on Gifford Road at 9.15pm, along with the London Ambulance Service.

A woman in her 40s was found injured and despite the efforts of the emergency services, she was pronounced dead at the scene.

In addition to the fatality, two other men in their thirties were injured in what authorities described as a cruel and violent attack. One victim remains in critical condition in the hospital, while the injuries of the other man are reported to be non-life-threatening.

Witnesses told MailOnline today that they heard multiple gunshots and a woman ‘screaming’.

One neighbour, a 40-year-old mother of five, said: ‘Last night we were inside our house and we heard a woman screaming, crying and shouting around 9pm.

‘And then all our neighbours ran out and then police and ambulance started coming and we could hear the sirens.

‘Our neighbours said they heard gunshots and that the shooting happened outside.

‘We’ve lived here for 17 years and never seen anything like this.

‘It’s really bad this is happening in our community. Our youngest, a nine-year-old, slept in our bed because he was so scared.’ 

A woman who worked at a nearby church said she was in a service at around 8.30pm when she heard gunshots.

‘The music was really loud so I heard “pow pow pow”,’ she said. ‘I could hear crying and screaming and shouting.

‘I went outside and saw that a woman in her 40s was injured. I wanted to perform CPR on her but I was so scared that the gunman would kill me.

‘Then five or six minutes later the ambulance arrived but it was too late.’

A resident of nearby Creukhorne Road, who did not wish to be named, said they heard five gunshots in a row.

Meanwhile another man who lives near the scene of the fatal shooting described the incident as ‘pandemonium’.

He said: ‘I was inside the church and someone came in and said there had been a shooting. I looked outside and it was pandemonium.’

Another neighbour, who has lived in the area since 2008, said her daughter had come home just 10 minutes before the shooting.

The woman added the victim did not live in the area.

She said: ‘My daughter came though the door 10 minutes before it happened.

‘My son thought there were fireworks, then I heard my neighbour screaming and I realised there was a shooting.

‘It’s crazy, it’s sad. It’s scary, it does not feel safe.

A neighbour, who lives on a road in Brent where three people were shot on Saturday night said people had been at a wake in a nearby church.

‘People came out of the church, they were at a wake and they saw the bodies on the ground.

‘I heard a lot of crying and screaming.’

Tom Joyce, 72, who lives less than 100 metres from where the shooting took place, said: ‘Last night at around 9.30pm while I was watching television I heard loads of police sirens and saw a police car. I didn’t hear any gun shots.

‘I looked at my window and I saw maybe a dozen young people – teenagers – running up and down the street.

‘I got up this morning at 7am and I was tidying the street and I saw all the police cars and saw it was all cordoned off.

He added: ‘We are well used to that [shootings] here. There was a shooting over there a few years ago. The problem round here is we have no police force.’

Road closures remain in place around the scene today as police continue to gather evidence.

There have been no arrests and enquiries into the circumstances continue.

Superintendent Tony Josephs, from the North West Command Unit which covers Brent, said: ‘This is a truly shocking incident that has left a woman dead and two others injured, and I understand the concern this will cause the local community and those across London.

‘I want to reassure people that a team of experienced detectives are already working at pace to piece together the events of last night and identify whoever was responsible for this heinous act of violence.

‘If you were in or around Gifford Close at the time of the shooting, or have any information about who was responsible, please get in contact with us. 

‘A family has been left devastated and we need to work together to provide them with answers.’

Anyone with information that could assist police is asked to call 101 or ‘X’ @MetCC and quote CAD7137/14Dec. You can also provide information anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The River of Life Elim Pentecostal Church on Gifford Road is behind the police cordon.