Craig Small death: Heartbroken mother's plea for Londoners to 'stand together' against violence epidemic after son shot dead in Wembley high street

Victim: Craig Small was shot dead outside a chicken shop in Wembley last year
Metropolitan Police
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A mother called for families to “stand together” against London’s violence epidemic after a gunman shot her son dead in a busy high street.

Craig Small, a 32-year-old father-of-three, was killed outside a chicken shop in Wembley on Friday evening — the first of two fatal attacks in the area in less than 48 hours.

His mother Carol said: “It is time for this to stop, we need to stand together to put an end to this.”

CCTV obtained by the Sun shows the moment a hooded gunman rushes up to Mr Small, pulls out a small handgun and points it at his head. He opens fire, sending Mr Small crashing to the ground in Harrow Road shortly after 8pm.

The killer appears to run off, but doubles back and attempts to fire another shot before finally fleeing.

Mr Small’s mother said his family were “broken” and pleaded for help to catch his killer. She added: “Craig had a past but he had changed his life for the better, he was moving in the right direction. His life has been taken senselessly, he did nothing to deserve this.

“Craig meant everything to us. He was a loving son, a father, an uncle, he was a peace-maker. He was the soul of the family, he lit up the room and now the light has gone.

“We urge everyone with information to come forward. Silence empowers this violence. Please, can anyone who knows anything come forward, we need to stand up now.”

Mr Small, known as Smallz, was a member of a rap group based on the nearby Stonebridge estate.

In 2017, he featured on a track by local rapper K Koke — who was signed by American superstar Jay-Z — which has been viewed nearly 1.7 million times on YouTube.

His murder came two days before graduate Kwasi Mensah-Ababio, 26, was fatally shot in the head in Monks Park — 200 yards away.

Mr Mensah-Ababio, described by his family as a “lovely, innocent family boy”, was on his way home from his job as a steward at Wembley stadium.

His killing — the fourth of the weekend — brought the total number of violent deaths in the capital to 72 this year.

Meanwhile, a double stabbing in Brent yesterday saw police issue a Section 60 order giving them extra stop and search powers in large swaths of the borough.

The first victim, a 21-year-old man, is fighting for life after being attacked in a park by machete-wielding thugs yards from a children’s nursery in Preston Park. Police then arrested a 16-year-old who was found at about 2.45pm with stab wounds.

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