Boxer Dillian Whyte has paid tribute to a drill musician who has been named locally as the victim of a fatal shooting in Brixton that also left a takeaway delivery driver dead.
Rapper Perm - who is understood to be a close relative of the heavyweight champion - is said to have died after being shot during the violence in Railton Road on Sunday night.
Whyte - who faced Tyson Fury in a bout at Wembley in April - paid tribute to the young rap star on social media while others remembered him as a “UK drill legend”.
A huge manhunt remained underway on Monday evening, while the other victim was named as moped delivery rider Guilherme Messias da Silva, 21.
The two victims were left fatally injured shortly before 8pm on Sunday, as police rushed to the scene to find a wrecked car and a badly damaged moped lying amid strewn debris.
Residents reported hearing a volley of 12 gunshots, with one saying she had seen two cars chasing each other.
Boxing promoter Dean Whyte shared a photograph of Perm on Instagram on Monday, along with a message reading: “RIP my boy daddy loves u. Life has changed forever”.
Dillian Whyte shared the post to his 477,000 followers, along with emojis of broken hearts. Whyte is reported to be the rapper’s uncle, but this has not been confirmed.
On Youtube, fans paid tribute to Perm as a “UK drill legend” and “one of the pioneers” of the genre.
One wrote: “RIP perm such a pioneer in the drill scene send my condolences to the family and friends”.
On Facebook, Herbert Ushewokunze wrote: “Rest in Paradise Perm Condolences to your family and friends. Another Legend has departed Drill Music has lost a true Pioneer of his generation. Stop The Gun Violence”.
Delivery driver Mr Silva is understood to have died from his injuries after being hit by a car as it careered out of control during the shooting.
He had been in the UK for two years, and came from Petrolina de Goias near the Brazilian capital Brasilia.
Friend Pauolo da Silva, 42, said Mr Silva worked with him at Deliveroo and had been dropping off his final order of the night.
He added at the scene: “He was a very nice guy. It’s so sad. That’s his moped on the ground.
“He had planned to return to Brazil soon but it won’t happen now.”
Another Deliveroo rider described Mr Silva as “a good man who had become an innocent victim.”
The Met said no arrests had been made and that there would be an “enhanced police presence” and road closures in the area as a search for evidence to identify the killers continues.
It urged witnesses and others with information to come forward as residents told of their horror.
A mother-of-four, 63, said she witnessed the shooting while walking her dog down Railton Road.
“I never want to relive it. There were two cars chasing each other and gun shots fired,” she said.
“I’ve lived here 28 years and never experienced anything like this. I thought it was fireworks at first, something to do with Halloween.
“One of the victim’s family and friends came down this morning. Obviously, they’re devastated. They can’t do anything but weep and demand answers.”
Another witness said: “There were 12 shots of what sounded like automatic fire, someone ran into the shop to raise the alarm. People were taking cover.”
TV editor Sebastian Morrison, 50, said he saw the aftermath of the killings.
“I was just coming down to the shops and there were lots of police cars with flashing lights and it was already cordoned off.
“It looked like a car accident but then some people told me they heard 12 gunshots. I could see there had been a crash with at least one moped and a car involved.
“It’s a tragedy that two people have been murdered at the end of my street.
“I’ve got children aged 13 and 15. It’s very unsettling. I now have to explain to them what has happened.”
A 24-year-old woman said the other dead man was a drill rapper and said he lived locally and grew up in Lambeth.
She said: “I knew him from young. A friend rang me about an hour after it happened. I couldn’t believe it.”
Another witness said the sister of one of the victims had travelled to the scene and had broken down in front of the cordon.
“She was crying, she was in a bad way. It was terrible to see her like that. She was being comforted by another woman.”
A 55-year-old woman walking her primary son to school today added: “It took everyone a few moments to work out what had happened because we genuinely thought it was fireworks.
“But then the sounds went on too long.
“I came out of my house because I thought someone was hitting cars. It was absolute carnage when I got to the scene.”
One vehicle, an 18-reg silver MG ZS Excite, was left with its front smashed in at the scene from a head-on impact, while a black moped lay on its side badly damaged.
Debris was strewn across a large crime scene protected by uniformed police officers as scenes of crime colleagues scoured for clues.
The Met said it had been called after reports of gunfire on Railton Road and that police, including firearms officers, had attended with the London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance.
It said that both victims were pronounced dead at the scene despite the efforts of the emergency services and that the precise nature of their injuries had yet to be established.
The force added: “Post-mortem examinations will be held in due course. A number of roads in the area are closed and crime scenes are in place.
“Local residents will see an enhanced police presence in the area and are advised to speak with officers if they have any information. There have been no arrests and enquiries continue.”
Local MP Helen Hayes tweeted: “I’ve been to the scene of the appalling incident on Railton (Road).
“My thoughts are with the loved ones of those who died
“A respite centre is open at Lambeth Town Hall for residents unable to return home & Dexter’s Adventure Playground is open for anyone who needs support today.”
The Brixton killings follow a recent spate of gun deaths in the capital and follow the deaths of two other men in a fatal shooting last Tuesday in Ilford.
Saydi Abu Sheikh, 23, and Zakariya Jeilani Mohammed, 32, both died after a shooting inside a house on Henley Street in what police described as an “act of unspeakable violence” which also left a third man with “life-threatening” gunshot wounds. He remains in a critical condition in hospital.
Other gun deaths this year in London, which had seen a lengthy period without any such fatalities, include shootings in July in Walthamstow, Wood Green and Queen’s Park and another firearms killing in Kensington in September.
