Young gun crime in London soars

Operation Trident tackles gun crime in the black community

The number of shootings and murders involving people aged under 20 in London's black community, has more than doubled in the past four years.

Figures from Scotland Yard's Operation Trident unit found the number of people killed or injured by guns had risen from 31 in 2003 to 76 in 2006.

Home Office figures revealed the number of people killed by guns in the UK dropped to 50 in 2006 from 75 in 2005.

In the last week two teenagers have been shot dead in south London.

Last Saturday James Andre Smartt-Ford, 16, was shot twice by gunmen who opened fire at Streatham Ice Arena.

Three days later, 15-year-old Michael Dosunmu was shot as he slept in his bedroom in Diamond Street, Peckham.

Operation Trident was launched in 2000 to reduce gun crime in London's black community.