Strang House residents in shock after brutal double shooting of Lee Wallace and Jayson Hassan
Family left stunned by ‘execution’
Published: 12th November, 2010
by TERRY MESSENGER
THE family of a man gunned down outside an Islington block of flats in an “execution-style” killing yesterday paid tribute to their “lovely, funny boy”.
Lee Wallace, who grew up in Angel, was shot dead along with Jayson Hassan outside Strang House in Britannia Row on Tuesday in the front yard of a ground-floor flat
Speaking to the Tribune, his stepmother Caroline Banks said: “We can’t believe what’s happened to him. He’s going to be really missed.”
Mr Wallace had recently become a father for the second time when his girlfriend Charlie gave birth to their three-month-old daughter Milan.
Ms Banks said: “He had a new baby, Milan, and his four-year-old daughter, Brooke – it’s devastating.”
Mr Wallace died at the scene of the shooting at 4.30am. Mr Hassan, 28, was shot 15 yards away in the front yard of another ground-floor flat at the block. He died in the early hours of the following morning at a hospital in east London. Police are hunting two men who approached on foot and made off after the shootings “in an unknown direction”.
An anonymous witness who saw the immediate aftermath said: “They were both lying just inside the walls of the front gardens – it was if they were trying to hide.”
Lee’s father Cleve and stepmother Ms Banks were this week in mourning at the family home in Ritchie Street.
Lee spent his childhood in Barking but moved to Islington during his teenage years where he attended Islington Green School. He had since moved to Debden in Essex to raise his family.
Floral tributes to him were left at the scene. One said: “RIP L.Wallace. Yo Brother. Look After!! Never forget da times we had!! Nuff Love.”
Ms Banks said: “The tributes are absolutely lovely. He was loved. The memories I get when I look outside my house where he used to play with my children. I just can’t get over what happened.”
Tributes were also left to Mr Hassan, who came from Bethnal Green. One read: “RIP you and Lee. Be with Allah.”
Residents of the block were in a state of shock after the killings.
The elderly woman in whose yard Mr Wallace died said: “I was in bed so I didn’t see it but when I heard what happened, I nearly collapsed I was so frightened. I’m still in a state of shock. I’ve never seen anything like this in the 20 years I’ve lived here.”
A resident living close to where Mr. Hassan was shot said: “I heard a huge noise, four or five bangs at about 4.30am. And I was afraid to go out. I looked out of my kitchen window and I saw some people gather outside. I asked them what happened and they said, ‘a shooting’. I was scared because I was alone with my daughter.”
A resident on an upper floor said: “I heard the bangs and I went out to see what had happened. I saw a man lying on the floor. I knew there had been a shooting.”
Many residents insisted that the estate was “quiet and peaceful” with violence a rarity.
There have been reports that the two men were killed in a “gangland-style execution” but police have yet to comment on possible motives.
An incident room has opened up at the police homicide and serious crime command’s base in Barking. Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Clayman who is leading the investigation, said: “We appeal to anyone who was in the area at the time of the incident who may have seen or heard anything suspicious, or has any information about this incident, to contact us in confidence.”
Islington’s Bunhill ward Labour councillor Claudia Webbe will be involved in the investigation into the killings in her capacity as chairwoman of the Met’s Operation Trident group.
Cllr Webbe said Trident would be liaising with homicide detectives.
“Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones at this time,” she added. “This execution-style murder in the heart of Islington clearly is shocking and horrifying.
“We must ensure that these brutal killers are brought to justice.”
Operation Trident emerged in 1997 as a result of sustained community pressure to tackle the disproportionate effects of gun crime on Black communities.
St Peter’s ward Labour councillor Martin Klute said:
“For something so gratuitously violent to happen right on our doorstep is deeply shocking.”
Anyone who may be able to assist police should call the incident room on 020 8345 3775, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.