Shooting murders probe: Three held

Three people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after two teenagers were shot dead as they were chased down an alleyway.

Mohammed Abdi Farah, 19, died at the scene, and 18-year-old Amin Ahmed Ismail died after being taken to Milton Keynes Hospital in Buckinghamshire with a gunshot wound to the head.

The suspects, all from Bletchley, were arrested on Friday night and remain in police custody, Thames Valley Police said. The ages of the three people, who are male, have not been released.

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Det Supt Rob Mason, leading the investigation, said: "Although we have made a number of arrests, I am keen to stress that we are still in the very early stages of the investigation. I would continue to urge anyone with information about the incident to contact police urgently."

The shooting happened on the Fishermead council estate in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, shortly after 10pm on Thursday. Both victims were known to police for low-level incidents and detectives have ruled out the killings being gang-related at this stage.

Mr Farah's uncle, Rashid Hirad, told Sky News that his nephew had been in hiding for the last few weeks. He said Mr Farah had been beaten up repeatedly and his mother had moved to Birmingham in an attempt to avoid the trouble but he kept returning to Milton Keynes to visit friends.

Mr Hirad said: "She decided to move from Milton Keynes to Birmingham because she wanted to run away from these people but she couldn't. All the time he is coming back to Milton Keynes to visit friends and at last it happened."

Mr Mason, who is leading the investigation for Thames Valley Police, said: "Clearly we are at the very early stages of our investigation into this incident, which happened at Fishermead Boulevard.

"A large area of Fishermead is currently sealed off while officers carry out investigations and protect the scene. I appreciate that residents will feel concerned about this incident. However, there is a large and highly visible police presence in the area."

Mr Mason added: "We believe that the victims in this incident are friends, but we do not know if the offender is known to them."