Chris Kaba: Man shot dead by police in Streatham named

A man shot dead by police after a chase in south London has been named locally as 23-year-old rapper Chris Kaba.

Mr Kaba was shot after a pursuit of a "suspect vehicle" that ended in Kirkstall Gardens, Streatham Hill, at about 21:50 BST on Monday.

Pastor Rachel Swaby said Mr Kaba was a rapper known as Madix and part of the MOBO-nominated drill group 67.

Kim Alleyne, 49, whose daughter Karima Waite was engaged to Mr Kaba, said he had been due to become a father.

She said: "He was so loved. He was so funny. He was super-kind. Crazy. He was always happy. He'd do anything for you."

She added: "He was a fiancé, he was due to get married in five months' time. He's got a baby on the way that he's never going to see.

"It's horrible and so shocking and so sad."

She questioned why Mr Kaba was shot, adding that her daughter was "in a tremendous amount of pain". Ms Alleyne said had her daughter's fiancé been white he would have been given "a chance to get out the car".

Ms Swaby, a pastor at New Park Road Baptist Church, told the BBC she felt "physically sick" learning about the death of Mr Kaba.

She said: "He was a young person in the community, obviously a talented rapper.

"He had a young family on the way and it just feels like his life has been cut short for no reason... I think something needs to be done to hold police to account."

Mr Kaba's cousin Jefferson Bosela, 27, described the rapper as a "loving, good person".

Speaking to the BBC, he said: "I've put it out there he wasn't perfect… but regardless of that nobody deserves to be killed by the police unless there is an imminent or direct threat to the public, which at that moment in time, from what I'm hearing, he was not."

During the chase, police used a tactic where they collided with the car they were pursuing to force it to stop.

Locals said they heard gunshots and a police helicopter hovering overhead.

A man, who lives on nearby New Park Road and wanted to remain anonymous, said: "The bang was really loud. I was in my house with my gaming headphones on and I heard it."

Another man, who lives in Kirkstall Road and asked not to be named, said: "I heard what sounded like one or two gunshots and then a lot of commotion."

Mr Kaba died in hospital about two hours after he was shot.

Floral tributes have been laid at the scene.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy, MP for Streatham, said tensions were rising in the area following the shooting and called for police to release more information about what happened.

"People are drawing their own conclusions," the Labour politician said.

"They're looking back at what happened with Mark Duggan, looking back to 2011, and again looking back at the time when we don't get the information that we need about an incident on the basis that it's being investigated."

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has opened an investigation, as is standard after a police shooting.

The independent body, which oversees police complaints in England and Wales, confirmed one shot was fired from a police issue firearm.

IOPC investigators said they were examining police footage and CCTV from the area, as well as carrying out house-to-house inquiries.

Sal Naseem, IOPC London regional director, said: "When the police use fatal force it is important that there is a robust, independent investigation to establish all of the circumstances surrounding what happened.

"It is natural that the community wants answers quickly but I would ask that people refrain from speculation that may be unhelpful to all of those affected."

A post-mortem examination, which will determine a provisional cause of death, is set to take place.

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