At 21:51hrs on Monday, 5 September specialist firearms officers were in pursuit of a suspect vehicle in the Lambeth area.
The vehicle was stopped following tactical contact in Kirkstall Gardens, Streatham Hill.
A police firearm was discharged.
An occupant of the suspect vehicle – a man believed to be aged in his 20s, sustained a gunshot injury.
London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance were requested. Officers administered first aid prior to their arrival and the man was taken to hospital, where he died at 00:16hrs.
Enquiries are ongoing to notify his next of kin.
Cordons and road closures are in place.
Chris Kaba, a 23-year-old rapper known as Mad Itch and part of the MOBO-nominated group 67, was shot following a police chase in Kirkstall Gardens, Streatham Hill, at around 9.51pm last night.
He featured on Westwood rap show and released allot of solo music as well as collaborations.e featured on Grm Daily, linkup tv and SBTV.
He was released from prison 7 months ago.
Officers administered first aid at the scene before Mr Kaba was rushed to hospital, but he was pronounced dead shortly after midnight.
Speaking outside their home in West Dulwich, South London, parents Elaine and Prosper Kaba told of their devastation today.
Mr Kaba’s father said: ‘We just don’t understand what happened. Why didn’t they shoot him in the leg, they could’ve done that. Why did they have to kill him?
‘I saw him earlier in the day and he told me he was going back home to get something to eat and then was going round to a friend’s house.
‘I don’t know why the police would be following him. He was a good boy, not involved in trouble.
‘We only heard what happened this morning and at the moment we just don’t know what to think. Chris was the eldest of three brothers, he’d been hoping to study at university.
‘He had a girlfriend and was looking forward to being a father in a few months. He was expecting a little girl in November and was really excited about having a daughter.
‘He said he was looking forward to helping her start talking and walking, all these fatherly duties. Chris enjoyed life, he was always joking around. He had a lot of friends.’
Fighting back tears Mrs Kaba added: ‘I’ve lost my son, I am heartbroken. I keep on asking myself why?
‘Why did the police have to do this? Was there no other way?’
Awful event in streatham hill tonight. I and many other neighbours heard 2 gunshots. Have also heard reports from neighbours who say they saw police stop a car and shoot a man. They then performed CPR on him before taking him away. Lots of armed police and helicopter.
Relatives today said Mr Kaba was soon to marry fiancé Karina Waite.
His cousin Jefferson Bosela, a 27-year-old school teacher, said Mr Kaba had narrowly avoided being stabbed to death four years ago.
Mr Bosela said: ‘Chris didn’t have a gun on him. He didn’t have drugs on him. So what was the threshold in deciding to shoot him?
‘This is a race issue, are police trying to cause problems all over again?
‘There’s so many questions. Am I safe on these streets? Because I don’t feel very safe. My cousin has just been shot dead by the police and for what? For driving? They treated him like a terrorist. And he’s no terrorist.
‘His parents were only told this morning, why did they take so long to inform them when he was shot last night.
‘And they’ve told them nothing so far. They’ve told us nothing. We don’t know why he was followed by armed police and why he was shot.
‘We don’t even know where on the body they shot him.
Karina’s mother Kimberley Allayne, 49, who lives in nearby Wandsworth said: ‘We don’t even know where he was shot, how many times he was shot and where his body is.
‘I just don’t understand it. It is going to take a long time and the pain is never going to go away.
A large group of Mr Kaba’s friends visited the scene today, where a large police cordon has been erected.
One friend told MailOnline: ‘He was a good person, he was due to be a father. His first child is due in November and will grow up without a father.
‘We don’t know why he was shot. He didn’t have any kind of firearm on him so why was he killed by the police?
‘I’ve seen the bullet hole in the car. He was shot at point black range through the front windscreen, driver’s side. The police had surrounded him with their cars, he couldn’t go anywhere. Why did they shoot?’
Another friend said the victim had spent the evening around a friend’s house and said he did not know why armed police were following him, adding: ‘As far as I know he had been playing video games with a friend.
‘He wouldn’t have been involved in anything that would cause the police to chase him. I knew him and he was straight.’
Another man at the scene said: ‘He was going to have his first child. Now his child is going to have no father. It breaks my heart.
‘He had nothing to do with gangs or anything like that.’
A 39-year-old man, who lives on New Park Road and asked not to be named, said: ‘The (driver) drove up New Park Road and turned up Kirkstall Gardens. A police car came down Kirkstall Gardens and crashed into him.
‘Another police car came in behind him and they had him locked in at the bottom of Kirkstall Gardens. The car was immobile when he was shot.’
He added: ‘The bang was really loud. I was in my house with my gaming headphones on and I heard it.’
One woman who lives in Kirkstall Gardens, who wished to remain anonymous, added: ‘I heard a big bang and then I came outside. From inside I could see the blue lights and a helicopter. There were plenty of police officers.
‘It looked like somebody was lying on the floor and they were trying to attend to the person. I’ve lived here for a year or so and I’ve never experienced anything like that.
A second man who lives in the road said: ‘I heard what sounded like one or two gunshots and then a lot of commotion. I saw some police cars and then the main commotion was over pretty quickly.’
Streatham Hill residents claimed officers performed CPR on the suspect after shooting him.
A statement from the IOPC said: ‘The IOPC has begun an independent investigation following an incident involving firearm officers from the Metropolitan Police in Lambeth, south London, last night.
‘At this early stage it is believed a man was fatally shot during the police response to reports of a suspect vehicle.
‘We were notified by the MPS of the incident shortly after 11pm and we declared an independent investigation shortly before midnight.
‘IOPC investigators were sent to the scene and the post incident procedures to start gathering evidence.
‘Our thoughts and sympathies are with all of those affected by this terrible incident. Our investigation remains in the very early stages.’
