Second teenager charged with homicide of schoolboy, 14, who was shot useless in London stairwell
A second teenager has been charged with the murder of a schoolboy who was shot dead in a London stairwell.
Emergency services were called to reports of a shooting on Lord Warwick Street in Woolwich, south-east London, at 3.40pm on April 2.
Eghosa Ogbebor, 14, was found with serious injuries and pronounced dead at the scene on the residential road behind Woolwich Dockyard station.
The Metropolitan Police launched a murder investigation which has so far seen multiple people arrested, with some charged and others bailed pending further enquiries.
Today, the force announced a 15-year-old was arrested on May 6 and charged with murder. He will appear before Barkingside Youth Court on Thursday, 7 May.
A 16-year-old boy from Romford, east London, was arrested on April 10 before being charged with murder. He appeared at Thames Magistrates’ Court the following day and was remanded in custody.
The boys cannot legally be named because they are under 18.
The 16-year-old is accused of shooting Mr Ogbebor, who was also armed, in the chest following a chase.
Pictured: Eghosa Ogbebor, 14, who was shot dead near Woolwich Dockyard station on April 2
Forensic officers pictured at the scene the day after the shooting on Lord Warwick Street
Prosecuting, William Emlyn Jones KC claimed: ‘It was there at the top of the stairwell that the defendant aimed and fired at the victim, shooting him once in the chest, causing an injury from which he died.’
The boy was first arrested on April 4, two days after the attack, before being released on bail.
He was then re-arrested on April 9 and charged with murder the following day, police have said.
The teenager has been remanded into youth detention accommodation to appear for a plea and trial preparation hearing on July 3. A provisional start date for the six-week trial has been set for January 18, 2027.
The Met Police said their investigation remains ongoing.
Officers arrested a 16-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man in Woolwich on suspicion of murder, and a 46-year-old man on suspicion of assisting an offender. All three were released on bail.
Two boys, aged 14 and 16, and an 18-year-old man who were arrested on April 3 in connection with the attack have also been bailed.
In the wake of Mr Ogbebor’s death, his family and friends laid tributes at the scene of his death.
The youngster is believed to have been an aspiring rapper and had released snippets of songs he recorded at school under the name ‘Y.Risky’.
One tribute described the situation as ‘just awful’.
Another read: ‘It’s Easter and should be a time for celebration, but they are grieving. It’s just awful.’
London mayor Sadiq Khan labelled the killing ‘appalling’ and said: ‘My thoughts are with the family, friends and wider community in Woolwich following the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old boy.
‘There is absolutely no place for this heartbreaking violence.’
Speaking at Eghosa’s family home in Abbey Wood, his aunt revealed he had told his mother he was going out to film a rap video and said his mother was ‘broken’ by her son’s death.
She told Metro: ‘He loved music, he was so talented and lived for it. On the day he was shot, he had gone out to film a video with his friends.
‘He never came back. His mother is broken. He was so young, he had his whole life ahead of him. He was so young, just a boy.’
