Express & Star

“Loud screeching” sounded a warning for a firearms officer who leapt away moments before the driver of a suspect car was fatally shot by a colleague, a court has heard.

Martyn Blake, 40, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of murdering 24-year-old Chris Kaba who was shot through the front windscreen of an Audi during an armed police stop.

Jurors have heard how Mr Kaba had been driving forwards and back in an attempt to ram his way out after being blocked in by armed response vehicles in Streatham, south London.

A police marksman was “fractions of a second” away from firing his gun at Chris Kaba when the 24-year-old was shot by another officer, a jury has heard.

The officer, known only as E156, told jurors at the Old Bailey that he mistakenly thought he had fired the fatal shot in the seconds after Mr Kaba was fatally injured.

Martyn Blake, 40, is on trial for murder over the death of Mr Kaba in Streatham, south-east London on September 5, 2022, which he denies.

A police driver feared his colleague was going to be run over just before Chris Kaba was shot by a Met marksman, a court has heard.

The officer, known only by the cypher AY3, described “a very dramatic scene” unfolding as he gave evidence at the Old Bailey on Monday.

Fellow armed officer Martyn Blake, 40, is on trial for the murder of Mr Kaba in Streatham, south-east London on September 5 2022.

Mr Kaba, 24, was shot once through the windscreen of the Audi that he was driving as he tried to smash between a marked police patrol car and a parked car next to it.

A firearms officer who raised his gun in the same second a colleague shot Chris Kaba during a police vehicle stop told jurors he feared he would be run over and killed.

The Metropolitan Police officer, referred to as DS87, was standing beside Martyn Blake when he opened fire on the unarmed driver of a suspect Audi car on the evening of September 5 2022.

The blue Audi had been used as the “getaway” car after shots were fired outside a school in Brixton the night before – and neither shotgun nor suspects had been found, jurors were told.

A firearms officer who raised his gun in the same second a colleague shot Chris Kaba during a police vehicle stop told jurors he feared he would be run over and killed.

The Metropolitan Police officer, referred to as DS87, was standing beside Martyn Blake when he opened fire on the unarmed driver of a suspect Audi car on the evening of September 5 2022.

The blue Audi had been used as the “getaway” car after shots were fired outside a school in Brixton the night before – and neither shotgun nor suspects had been found, jurors were told.

A police marksman shot Chris Kaba dead believing “one or many” officers could be killed as the suspect attempted to escape at “any cost”, a court has heard.

Martyn Blake, 40, shot the 24-year-old in the head through the windscreen of an Audi car during a police stop in Streatham, south London, on September 5 2022.

Moments before, Mr Kaba had tried to get away by driving forward and then reversing into a police car which had blocked him in, jurors have heard.

A 49-year-old man was found dead after a blaze at a property divided into bedsits.

A 34-year-old woman and a 47-year-old man have been arrested on suspicion of murder after the fire in south London.

A woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder and arson after a man died following a suspicious house fire in south London.

The Metropolitan Police were called by London Fire Brigade to a multi-occupancy house in Glenister Park Road, Streatham, shortly after 7pm on Sunday, where they found a 49-year-old man dead inside.

On Monday a 34-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of murder and arson with intent to endanger life.

She remains in custody at a south London police station.

A woman has been sentenced to nearly five months in prison after being caught stealing from Wolverhampton city centre shops.