Trainee electrician Fernando Johnson, 23, was ambushed by two men while getting out of his car on Rosebank Way, near the A40 dual carriageway in Acton at 2.15am.

Police were called to reports of a man “significantly injured”.

Officers and paramedics attended but despite best efforts of the emergency services, he died at the scene.

Scotland Yard said it was too early to say if the victim had been stabbed or shot. A post-mortem examination will be scheduled in due course.

But a cousin, paying tribute to a musician “just about to get on the map”, told the Standard: “He lived on the road where he was stabbed.

“Two people jumped him and knifed him as her got out of his car. He had just popped out.

“It’s a tragedy – we are all devastated. He was such a lovely person who will be sadly missed.

“This isn’t gang-related, as far as we know. He was doing so well with his music and going places. He was going to be a big name. He was so positive and a lovely person. He had two brothers. No one can believe it.”

A police cordon remains around the crime scene as detectives trawl for clues and looking through CCTV.

One resident added: “I heard some shouting and people running away, then there were blue lights everywhere with ambulances and police. It’s truly frightening.”

The victim is only the fourth killing in London of 2023, as detectives witness a dramatic fall in killings.

Of the 109 homicides in 2022, the lowest number since 2014, nine were fatal shootings and 69 stabbings. Fourteen teenagers were killed, down from a post-war record of 30 the previous year.

FDOT HISTORY

A gang from Shepherd’s Bush who bragged in drill music ideos about attacking rivals have been sentenced for their part in a violent altercation on the White City Estate that left a youth with life-threatening injuries.

Eight gang members were sentenced on Friday, 7 September.

Calvin Johnson, 20, pictured on the left of the top row, of no fixed address but from the W12 area was jailed for a total of four years for violent disorder and conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.

His brother Fernando Johnson, 18 pictured in the centre of the top row, of no fixed address, but from the W12 area was sentenced to a total of three years and four months’ imprisonment for violent disorder and conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.

Hamman Abdoulfath, 20, pictured to their right, of Hartington Road, Chiswick was sentenced to 16 months in a young offenders’ institute for violent disorder.

Dominic Charles, 19, pictured on the left of the lower row, of Ellerslie Road, W12 received a total of two years and four months in a youth offenders’ institute for violent disorder and separate offences of being concerned in the supply of class B drugs and possession with intent to supply class B drugs.

Jason Rodgers, 19, pictured in the centre of the lower row, of Dorando Close, W12 was sentenced to 16 months in a young offenders’ institute for violent disorder.

Malique Campbell-Edwards, 18, pictured on the right of the lower row, of Lawrence Close, W12 also received a 16 month sentence in a young offenders institute for violent disorder.

In addition, two 16 year-old boys from the W12 area were sentenced to 18 month youth rehabilitation orders for violent disorder.

A ninth youth aged 17, from the W3 area, was due to be sentenced on 14 September. However he failed to appear and a bench warrant has been issued for his arrest. He will be sentenced at a later date.

All were found guilty following a six week trial during which officers presented evidence of their drill music videos to demonstrate gang rivalry and incitement to commit violence.

Each defendant was also handed a Criminal Behaviour Order or CBO prohibiting them from appearing in any video or audio uploaded to the internet that references gangs, guns and/or knifes, associating with each other in public, wearing balaclavas or masks in public, entering the borough of Kensington and Chelsea between certain hours and attending Notting Hill Carnival.

The CBOs last for three years, or two years in the case of the 16 year-olds.

The defendants, all members of a Shepherd’s Bush gang, had been involved in a feud with a rival Kensington and Chelsea gang since the summer of 2016.

There had been several tit-for-tat incidents with weapons brandished on the streets and gang members stabbed and shot. Both gangs had released numerous drill music videos boosting of stabbing or robbing their rivals, escalating tensions and inciting further violence.

On Friday, 15 September 2017 at around 9.40pm, police were called to Primula Street, W12 to reports of three males wearing masks and armed with machetes walking along the street. Officers attended but they had already made off.

Shortly before 11pm. the same three males – members of the Kensington and Chelsea gang – were seen walking around the White City estate, lurking in various corners and looking for rival gang members.

One of their rivals – from the Shepherd’s Bush gang – spotted them and began to follow them around the estate. He called other gang members who quickly arrived and a large group, armed with large knives, swords and wooden sticks, launched an attack on the three males.

They chased them through the area and the incident ended in a violent confrontation during which one of their own – a 16 year-old – was stabbed in the back.

The badly injured youth tried to make off but collapsed in McKenzie Close. Police and paramedics were called to the scene and the youth was rushed to hospital where he needed to have blood pumped out of his chest and an emergency blood transfusion.

After the attack, the group made off in different directions.

The Met’s Trident and Area Crime Command launched an investigation and blood and weapons were found in various locations in the area.

Extensive CCTV enquiries identified all nine defendants as from the White City Estate. They were arrested and charged.

During the course of the investigation Trident enlisted the help of borough officers for their expertise on local gangs. Together they presented evidence to the courts of a number of drill music videos to demonstrate the tensions between the groups.

The videos included two which detailed the incident on Friday, 15 September 2017. Around two weeks after the stabbing, the Kensington and Chelsea gang uploaded a music video to social media called Play for the Pagans. The lyrics included nicknames for rival gang members, including Jeezy for Calvin Johnson. The lyrics described that if Jeezy had tripped he would have been ‘dipped’ (stabbed).

A second video called No Hook uploaded on Saturday, 1 October included the lyric: “Wit 2 shanks up creep up like luga leave man cut now the 12s all hot.” The words referred to one of the three males clearly seen on CCTV in a subway with two large knives shortly before the 16 year-old boy was stabbed. The ’12s all hot’ referenced the fact there were lots of police in the W12 area.

While on remand for violent disorder, Fernando Johnson updated his Instagram with a new drill video entitled Statement.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Steve Renny said: “This has been a long and exhaustive investigation aimed not just at bringing to justice those who engage in violent gang warfare – on this occasion almost costing a young man his life – but also curbing activities which allow them to glamorise and incite violence through drill music videos.

“We are increasingly applying for and being granted Criminal Behaviour Orders to stop young people posting videos and audio online which promote gang activity and violence. The lyrics presented to the court in this case clearly did just that and we know these tit-for-tat videos aimed at goading rival gangs actively lead to violent incidents on our estates.

“We are not trying to prevent young people’s artistic expression but when music is being used to encourage violent attacks we must act, as the public would rightly expect us to do so.

“We have had a positive reception from many social media platforms about tackling this issue and are working closely with them. As with every aspect of policing, we can’t do it alone. If you see a video on social media that causes you concern, then please do report it to us.”

In May, a five strong gang from Notting Hill who were planning to attack their rivals from Shepherd’s Bush with machetes and baseball bats were jailed and handed three year Criminal Behaviour Orders preventing them from making drill music glorifying violence after admitting conspiracy to commit violent disorder.

The gang – Micah and Jordan Bedeau of Colville Square, Yonas Girma from Hanworth, Isaac Marshall of Ladbroke Grove and Rhys Herbert of Lonsdale Road – were all between 17 and 21 and were handed sentences of between 12 months and three and a half years, after pleading guilty at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday, 16 May after arming themselves with machetes and baseball bats to take on the rival gang last November.

The defendants were stopped by police in Colville Square on 9 November 2017 during a proactive operation to target gang violence in the area. They were in or close to a car and armed with four large machetes and baseball bats, plus masks, balaclavas and gloves.

The court heard the group were about to launch an attack on a rival gang from Shepherd’s Bush, possibly in retaliation for an incident involving the Bedeau brothers’ grandmother.

A YouTube video had been posted showing a Snapchat broadcast of the grandmother being harassed, abused and threatened by members of the rival gang, leaving her distressed – simply because she was in their postcode area.

The video concluded with: “Horrid1ComeGetYourNan”. The court heard that Horrid1 was the street name for Micah Bedeau and the video was designed to goad the Notting Hill gang into action.

Officers saw Herbert get out of the car, a black Nissan Juke, with his face covered and holding something metallic to his right side.

Upon seeing police, he made off and was chased and detained by a PC. A large machete was found hidden down his trouser leg.

Officers searched the Nissan and discovered Girma, Marshall and Jordan Bedeau inside. Police found a large machete-style knife on Marshall and another on the back seat. In the front passenger footwell was a baseball bat with a second found in the boot. Gloves and a balaclava were also found inside the car.

Micah Bedeau was found and detained in the communal hallway of a black of flats in Colville Square. Inside his address officers found a large machete, a small knife and a balaclava.

The five were arrested and subsequently charged.There had been a long history of disputes between the gangs.

Local officers at Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea, who had spent two years gathering evidence of the gang’s music and social media activity, presented a raft of evidence to the court to demonstrate how the gang were promoting violence through their lyrics and actions and why CBOs were needed.

One song called ‘No Hook’ included sounds of gun shots and lyrics such as:

“Clock me an opp (opposing gang member), wind down the window, back (get) out the spinner (revolver firearm) and burst (shoot) him.”

“I put bullets in numerous guys like how come the opps (opposing gang members) ain’t learning?”

“OT trip (out of town or county line) trying to get some funds (money). We get bread (money) and invest in guns. Dem boy run when we tapped **** Ching (stab) Splash (stab) aim for his lungs.”

“Man lurky (creeping around with intent) that’s standard. That’s gang that’s gang. Four men on two peds (mopeds) jump off with my shank (knife) leave an opp (rival gang member) boy splattered (covered in blood).”

The CBOs have a number of conditions relating to music the gang post on social media or perform live. The five defendants must not:

– Incite or encourage violence against any individual, group or gang by claiming responsibility for or threatening to commit acts of violence;

– Make reference to a number of gangs or members of those gangs, either by their actual names or pseudonyms and street names;

– Make reference to the death or injury of those gang members;

– Reference specific post codes.

The gang can meet in public to make music if they have authorisation from police. They must notify police of any new official music videos (i.e. filmed by media companies) they feature in within 24 hours of publication. They must also provide police with a list of their official videos that are currently unpublished so they can be taken out of circulation if they breach the conditions of the CBOs.

The CBOs also stop the defendants meeting in a public place with other gang members aside from certain circumstances, entering particular areas, attending Notting Hill Carnival and having balaclavas or full facial masks in a public place or displaying gang-related ‘hand gestures’.

Detective Chief Superintendent Kevin Southworth, head of the Trident and Area Crime Command, said: “There is no doubt the five defendants that day were in the process of setting out to cause some very serious harm to their rivals. They equipped themselves with huge knives and I am sure there would have been some life-changing injuries inflicted if not worse had police not intervened.

“Trident’s proactive team is committed to tackling gang and knife crime and the events of 9 November show just how important our work is. The evidence was overwhelming – they were literally caught red-handed – and they had no option but to plead guilty.”

 

 

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