A teenage girl plunged to her death from the bedroom window of a 17th floor flat today moments after Met officers burst in to arrest a suspect.
It is not known if the police knew the 18-year-old was in the flat, whether she was hiding from them or whether she had tried to escape.
She was pronounced dead at the scene outside the block of flats in Mulgrave Road, Woolwich.
Neighbours today told how a man had moved into the flat - thought to be owned by social services - a few months ago.
Soon after, his 18-year-old girlfriend moved in and the pair were said to be constantly rowing.
Leila Ahmed, who lives next door, said: “I’m so shocked. They seemed like a nice couple. I would hear them rowing a lot, there was a lot of screaming and shouting, but every time I saw them they were polite.”
The 27-year-old student added: “The girl was a year or two younger than her boyfriend. The flat is generally used to house those looked after by social services.”
She added the couple did not work and the victim’s boyfriend was a keen skateboarder, who was often seen skateboarding in the local park.
The police operation is believed to have been carried out by local Greenwich officers. The Met said that at this stage no officer had been suspended.
Police are believed to have been making an arrest for a “recall to prison” though details of the original offence are not known.
Officers arrested one man at the address on suspicion of assisting an offender. Neighbours said he was the girl’s boyfriend. Police refused to give further details of the incident and it is not known if the woman was the target of the arrest warrant.
Mulgrave Road contains a mixture of local authority housing and private homes. Hastings House is the only tower-block, surrounded by lower-storey new-build developments.
The Met said it had referred the case to the police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The IPC said it was considering launching a full independent inquiry into the incident.
Police said they were waiting for a formal identification of the woman before releasing her name.
The man arrested at the flat was in custody at a south London police station.
The Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed and is investigating.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/crime/teenage-girl-in-death-plunge-moments-after-police-raid-woolwich-flat-7630836.html
She was pronounced dead at the scene outside the block of flats in Mulgrave Road, Woolwich.
Neighbours today told how a man had moved into the flat - thought to be owned by social services - a few months ago.
Soon after, his 18-year-old girlfriend moved in and the pair were said to be constantly rowing.
Leila Ahmed, who lives next door, said: “I’m so shocked. They seemed like a nice couple. I would hear them rowing a lot, there was a lot of screaming and shouting, but every time I saw them they were polite.”
The 27-year-old student added: “The girl was a year or two younger than her boyfriend. The flat is generally used to house those looked after by social services.”
She added the couple did not work and the victim’s boyfriend was a keen skateboarder, who was often seen skateboarding in the local park.
The police operation is believed to have been carried out by local Greenwich officers. The Met said that at this stage no officer had been suspended.
Police are believed to have been making an arrest for a “recall to prison” though details of the original offence are not known.
Officers arrested one man at the address on suspicion of assisting an offender. Neighbours said he was the girl’s boyfriend. Police refused to give further details of the incident and it is not known if the woman was the target of the arrest warrant.
Mulgrave Road contains a mixture of local authority housing and private homes. Hastings House is the only tower-block, surrounded by lower-storey new-build developments.
The Met said it had referred the case to the police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The IPC said it was considering launching a full independent inquiry into the incident.
Police said they were waiting for a formal identification of the woman before releasing her name.
The man arrested at the flat was in custody at a south London police station.
The Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed and is investigating.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/crime/teenage-girl-in-death-plunge-moments-after-police-raid-woolwich-flat-7630836.html
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Tower block: Hastings House (Credit: Google)
