The mother-of-two killed in a triple shooting outside a church in northwest London had been attending a wake for an 80-year-old family friend.
Michelle Sadio, 46, was killed and two men in their 30s, one of them critically, in the shooting in Gifford Road, Harlesden, shortly after 9pm on Saturday.
Ms Sadio is thought to have been an innocent bystander who had been attending a wake, with friends raising fears the shooting could be connected to gang turf wars in the area.
One told the Daily Mail that Ms Sadio had been at a ceremony to celebrate the life of Dinah Boateng, the mother of one of her school friends, and said shots were fired indiscriminately in the drive-by shooting.
“We think one of the gangs targeted the event as people spilled out the church about 45-minutes before it was due to end,” the friend said.
“Why they shot at people I’ve no idea. Perhaps it was mistaken identity or they just wanted to target someone at random on their rivals turf and saw a large crowd.
“There’s been a lot of incidents between the Church Road gang and the Stonebridge gang. Things have been hotting up between them again recently.
“We don’t know for sure what happened but the nine night ceremony didn’t have any troublemakers present at all.”
Ms Sadio, from Walthamstow, had tragically stepped outside for a breather from the wake because the music was quite loud before being caught in the shooting, they added.
“There was not many people were from Harlesden. Most had come far and wide to pay tribute to ‘Aunty’ Dinah,” they said.
“That something so horrific could happen at an event dedicated to her memory is shocking and repulsive.”
Pastor Lawrence Larbie, from the River of Life Elim Pentecostal Church where the wake was taking place, told of the panic as people realised there were shots being fired outside.
He told MyLondon: “The whole place was surrounded by police. One person shot in the back, we heard. People tended to them before the ambulance arrived.
“The car just drove through. The victims were people attending the wake. They were probably on their way home.
“It’s shocking. We are really devastated. You are invited to attend the wake and you end up deceased. You’re killed. You’re gone. Your life is expired just like that.”
Detectives are continuing their enquiries and no arrests have been made.
Met Superintendent Tony Josephs described the incident as a "truly shocking act of violence" and urged anyone with information to come forward.
He 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.”
Brent East PM Dawn Butler said she was “devastated to learn of the murder”, adding: “I continue to work closely with the local police service, local organisations, businesses and residents to ensure that the local communities' concerns are heard.
“If you have any information, do not hesitate to come forward.”
Anyone with information is urged to call police on 101 or contact them via X (formerly Twitter) @MetCC, quoting CAD7137/14Dec. Information can also be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
