BARNET: Community in shock after fatal shooting (From Times Series)

BARNET: Community in shock after fatal shooting

9:32am Friday 10th October 2008 in Advanced search By Rebecca Lowe

Neighbours have described hearing shouting and screaming moments before a man was shot dead in a Golders Green flat on Monday.

Armed police raided Caroline Court, in Highfield Road, at about 11.20am following reports a shot had been fired.

They found the body of Cima Sogojeva, 27, of Highfield Road, after breaking into the second-floor flat.

A post mortem carried out at Finsbury Mortuary on Tuesday confirmed he died at the scene from gunshot wounds.

Firearms officers smashed their way into several flats, but failed to find the gunman.

Police have now launched a murder investigation and forensic officers have been examining the area.

Joseph Haziz, 27, who works at Menachems butcher shop in Golders Green Road, was metres away from the shooting when it happened.

He said: “My brother and I were collecting supplies from our shop garage directly below the flat when we heard loud screams and about four gunshots.

“It was really loud, so we immediately dropped everything and legged it back to the shop. We were running for our lives.

“Within 30 seconds there were hundreds of coppers swarming everywhere, and about 40 police cars. They were going into every flat, smashing down the doors and breaking windows.

“Then they got to the last flat and four coppers with machine guns and body armour took positions on the balcony outside and waited there for about half an hour, shouting for the gunman to come out.

“Eventually they went in and found the body, but the gunman had escaped.”

The killing has shocked the Golders Green community.

A police spokesman said detectives were keeping an “open mind” about the motive for the attack. He would not confirm if Mr Sogojeva lived at the flat where the shooting took place.

A neighbour from Alba Court, the apartment block opposite, said many people in the area avoided Caroline Court. “We never normally have any trouble like this. But this block is different from the others and doesn’t fit in with the neighbourhood at all.

“We often hear people arguing loudly in the flat where the man was killed, all hours of the day and night. There are people coming and going from it all the time.

“Once I went around there to ask them to keep the music down and there was a really strong smell of cannabis.”

Mr Haziz added: “We always hear arguments in there, all the time. But that’s the only bad place around here, everywhere else is fine.”

However, Caroline Court resident Salid Hamza, 25, said he had never known any trouble at the block before.

“The first I knew about the shooting was when I got back from work,” he said. “Police were everywhere.

“It was really surprising. Normally everything is really quiet around here.”

Officers from the Metropolitan Police Homicide and Serious Crime Command are investigating and appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

Anyone who can help with their inquiries, can contact the incident room at Colindale on 020 8358 0400 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.