Diwali fireworks masked the sounds of gunshots in east London

Diwali celebration fireworks masked the sounds of gunshots in east London, according to people living in Ilford.

Two men were killed during the early hours of the morning and a third is in a critical condition in hospital after shots were fired in Henley Road.

Officers were called to the scene at around 12.15am following reports of a fight and found three men inside an address with injuries.

The Met said officers believe they know the identity of the man in his 20s and work is ongoing to identify the other man killed in the shooting.

There have been no arrests and the investigation is ongoing.

Metropolitan police inspector Dave Holgate said his thoughts are with the families as he appealed for information.

Speaking at the scene, he said: "Tragically two men lost their lives this morning and another was seriously injured following an appalling act of violence right here in Ilford.

"There are a number of crime scenes in place and we thank local residents for their understanding and co-operation while our forensic and specialist crime colleagues do their job.

"We understand that the community will quite rightly be shocked by this horrific incident, and we share in their concerns. However, I can assure that my dedicated colleagues are working at pace to collect evidence and identify the suspects."

"with the fireworks the shots weren't heard"

Shama Ahmad, 50, whose flat is just yards from where the two men were shot, said: "I live in a flat upstairs here, I heard some screaming, shouting, and I was a bit shaken by the screams but this is very common around by this area.

"I just looked from my window upstairs and the police and the helicopter above.

"There was fireworks going right in front of my flat, so with the fireworks the shots weren't heard at all.

"There was this celebration, Diwali thing, going on, and fireworks so you couldn't hear the shots.

"I live around the corner here and I'm a bit wary, me and my family are concerned about this."

The religious event, the Hindu Festival of Lights, began on Monday.

Councillor Jas Athwal, leader of Redbridge Council, called for more police as he spoke to reporters at the scene.

He said: "I think more police across the whole of the capital, these are numbers that have been cut over successive governments, we have to make sure we get the police here.

"We have been complaining about this in my role as London Councils lead on crime and community safety, I made that plea to the new Metropolitan Police commissioner only last week and he agrees that we need more police."

He added: "I think sometimes these things build up over time and that's where the police is needed to stop that building up over time and I think if we could get that we would be in a better place."

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