Special Tributes to ‘loving boy’ shot dead by gang on Barking estate

The family of a teenage student gunned down as he cycled through an east London estate told of their devastation.

David Adegbite,  only 18, was ambushed by a gang who surrounded him in a car park in Barking before shooting him in the head.

The emergency services found the teenager with a gunshot wound to his head just after 7pm on Sunday evening, and he died in hospital at 10.30pm.

Witnesses told how children playing nearby dived for cover after two shots were heard shortly after 7pm on Sunday.

One said: “There were two shots, it was so loud. There were children on green space playing nearby and everyone dived for cover. It was really frightening. We just wanted to make sure the kids were all okay.”

His friends, who preferred not to be named, said David “was a really humble guy”.

They described him as a laidback young man: “You never saw him mad, he was always laughing.”

One said: “He was not aggressive at all. He was just funny. He was a good footballer at school and was always well liked. He didn’t appear to have any enemies, he was a peaceable sort of guy. He was very cool.”

Another said: “He was a good friend and a good guy. We were planning to go to university together and he was going to do ICT (information and communications technology). He was a bright happy person, this does not make any to any of us.”

The teenager went to Dagenham Park school before attending Havering College where his friends said he did well in his A levels.

In fact, the young Arsenal fan was looking forward to studying at Middlesex University in the autumn.

“He was a person that was loved by many,” his friend added. “It was hard to not be attracted to him or give him attention because he was funny.”

Rafael Benedetti, 19, who had known David for eight years, said he was “bubbly” and always lightened the mood of any situation he was in: “He was one of those people that once you met him, it’s nearly impossible to forget him.”

Two 20-year-old men have arrested in connection with the shooting and police said that enquiries were continuing.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information is asked to contact the incident room on 020 8345 3715 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.