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Teenage friend of X Factor star Leona Lewis shot dead 'for living on rival estate'
Last updated at 09:52am on 16.11.07A teenage friend of X Factor star Leona Lewis has become the latest victim of London's gun violence after being shot by two youths who first asked where he was from.
Etem Celebi, 17, was a childhood friend of Lewis, 22, and her long-standing boyfriend Lou Al-Chamaa. They all grew up in the same area of Hackney in east London.
A friend of Mr Al-Chamaa - whom Lewis has previously said she plans to marry - said: "We have known him almost all our lives."
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Etem Celebi died in his parents' arms after being shot just yards from his home. He was a childhood friend of the X Factor winner Leona Lewis
The singer, whose album Spirit is set to top the charts this weekend, is said to be devastated following the shooting.
Lifeguard and semi-professional footballer Etem died in the arms of his parents on the Smalley Close Estate in Stoke Newington.
Witnesses said the 17-year-old had been shot once in his lower back.
Family friends claim two youths from the nearby Stamford Hill gang shot Mr Celebi in retaliation for the stabbing of one of their members days earlier. They believe he was killed because of "postcode rivalry".
"They thought someone from the Smalley Estate had stabbed their friend and they came down looking for that person and Etem was in the wrong place at the wrong time," a man, who is too frightened to be named, said.
"They didn't care who they shot - that's why they fired nine bullets."
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Shot in the back: Etem Celebi was with friends outside his home on the Smalley Close Estate
Mr Celebi was sitting with friends outside his home celebrating his new job as a lifeguard when they were approached by two youths who demanded to know if they were from the estate.
When the group replied yes one of the youths - described as mixed race - pulled out a gun.
Mr Celebi's friends ran but he was cornered and shot as he crouched behind a car. His parents Kemal and Hayriye, both 47, were at his side within minutes and watched as paramedics tried to save their son with emergency surgery.
His aunt Ziba Celebi, 26, said: "At least they were with him just before he died. The police had to pull them away from him because they were hysterical."
One witness said: "Young guys were standing around crying. Everyone was running out of their houses and all the mothers from the estate were beside themselves. The police were there and he was lying on the floor. His mother was near him in a state of shock."
The family friend said Mr Celebi, who played football for Leyton Football Club and supported Arsenal, didn't deserve to die.
He said: "He was a good boy, never one to cause trouble. He was a peacemaker. His parents are totally shattered - life can never be the same again, can it?"
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Described as a great kid, Etem Celebi had recently got a job as a lifeguard at a swimming pool as a lifeguard
Mr Celebi's father is said to be refusing to eat and drink and last night paramedics visited him at home for more than half an hour.
Another friend of Mr Celebi said: "I've known him since he was a baby. He was a great kid. He had recently got a job at the swimming pool as a lifeguard. He had some forms that he was going to fill in and he said to his mum, 'I'll just go outside and fill out this application'.
"His father is in a terrible state."
Mr Celebi's brother Firat, 20, came back from the University of Hertfordshire yesterday to be with his family.
The friend said: "This gun crime is only going to stop when the Government have harsher sentences. Otherwise it's going to keep getting worse and more and more kids are going to die."
Reader views (15)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
R.I.P ETEM YOUR GONE BUT NEVER FORGOTTON
GOD BLESS YOU
- Bery, North London
etem was a great loving guy we went to da same college and he was like a little peace maker in college.................i miss him
- Abi, london
I know how it feels to lose someone you love! I really feel your pain. Etem will live on forever, as long as you keep the memory of him in your hearts, and you will all reunite again one day!
Etem sounded like an amazing person and his truly beautiful spirit will never die.
- Annikke Isaksen, London,UK
If you know someone with a gun, don't stay silent! This could be your friend, child or family member you're reading about next!
- Sapphire, UK
For Etem's parents, Mr and Mrs Celebi. Your son sounds like he was a truly beautiful person and I hope you will be able to support each other to somehow come to terms with such a tragic loss. I wish you much love and peace and strength.
- Elene, South London
God Bless Etem - you was just a child at 17.
God be with Etems parents to give tehm strength.
- Mikey, London
There's a simple way to flush out the gangsters. Flood all the estates overnight with riot police. Search every property for drugs, guns, knives and illegals. Anyone found with such gets a min of 10 years with no chance of parole.
It has to all be done in one night on all the estates to ensure that no one can sneak away.
- Adam, Harrow, UK
This dreadful event has made the news on the strength of the victim's friendship with Leona Lewis. With all due respect to Leona, that's irrelevant. It should be big news whoever his friends were.
I would love for public reaction to this event to snowball into intense pressure on the government to significantly increase their action against gun crime and gang culture. Unless there is some sort of political implication, they are unlikely to do more than the minimum.
Unfortunately the reality is that it is likely to take a generation to change attitudes to the extent necessary, and no government can plan that far ahead.
- Jr, London
Agree with Luke Kidd - you only need to look at the liberal PC brigade to understand how these situations arise. To walk around with guns and shoot a complete stranger just for living in a particular area is more than just random crime - this is somthing way more sinister and needs to be dealt with accordingly. In my opinion, you get caught on the streets with a gun in the UK then you should get minimum 10 years in jail, period.
- Bob, London
John, totally agree with you. The PC brigade have blood on their hands. A good clip around the ear didn't do me any harm when I was a kid and stepped out of line. I was scared senseless of my elders. These days kids as young as ten confront me because they know that if I gave them a clip around the ear, I'd be looking at 6 months in the nick for assault. Let's instill fear into these wannabe gangsters by starting to remove all their human rights!
- Simon G, London, Uk
Etem was a very good friend of mine. I've grown up with him and I'm going to miss him a lot. He never made anything stress him and was always positive no matter what. All of us that live around the area are very hurt and will never forget him. He loved football, was a great talent and it was only on the 10th November I was speaking to him about applying for a new job as a lifeguard.
All I can really say is that things won't change unless the government start thinking about these stupid sentences they give to criminals.
My Brother normally plays in Smalley Park with many younger kids around the estate and I can definitely say his time outside will be cut short.
My heart goes out to his parents and his brother and the rest of his family.
R.I.P Etem
- Keiron Henry, StokeNewington,London
The Government need to make the police force stop sitting in their stations and PATROL the streets, on foot and in patrol cars, also undercover cops should be made to be more useful and go and get the guns off the streets. It's all too easy for these young boys to get hold of a gun, why can't the police get to these guns first. It all smells of a deliberate policy to allow the youngsters to instead of being concerned with education and furthering their ambitions, they are becoming gangsters to protect their areas and so call turf wars thus keeping inner city kids in a state of hopelessness. Bring back youth centres and Government funded initiatives to create opportunities to allow them to develop various skills and keep them positively occupied.
- Annonymous, Surrey
This guncrime needs to stop. Etem was in the year above me and although I never had a chance to talk to him apart from playing football with him he was a leading character in our school. Always had a smile on his face and helped young children out when they needed help, it's just sad to know that a face that was so well known in our lives has been taken away.
- Luke Kidd, Stoke Newington
It's a criminals paradise, bleeding heart liberals and political correctness, means that the criminals fear no one. Kids no longer know right from wrong because you cannot discipline them. This is what happens, people have been warning for years that this would be the outcome. You cannot treat everyone the same, you have to have the power to punish people. Politically correct Britain is like a holiday camp for hoods and gangsters.
- John, London
This is so bad, nobody can really live their lives the way they want to because its becoming too serious, too many people have died for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and it's not fair the younger generation are supposed to make the world go on but the way they are carrying on they will all be dead before time. I live in Peckham and it's horrible the only thing I have going for me is that I'm a girl, boys find it hard to live in an area that has rival gangs, they can't be themselves and chill out, they have all got their backs up which makes them look ignorant and stupid. The government is not doing anything to help these young people but then again they are not doing anything to help themselves! It's all too sad to see.
- Keisha Evans, Peckham, London
