Agencies failed 14-year-old boy shot in Forest Gate playground

An inquest into the death of a 14-year-old boy has found that there were “collective failings” across multiple public agencies prior to his fatal shooting.

Corey Junior Davis, known as CJ, was killed in a drive-by shooting in a playground in Forest Gate, east London on 4 September 2017.

On Friday, at East London Coroner’s Court, senior coroner Graeme Irvine recorded a verdict that CJ was unlawfully killed, and highlighted systemic lapses across children’s social care, youth offending, and housing services.

While it was determined these failings possibly contributed to his death, the coroner stated it could not be said to be probable.

The inquest heard how CJ, a vulnerable teenager diagnosed with ADHD, had been excluded from school and was subsequently groomed by a local gang to carry drugs.

His mother, Keisha McLeod, repeatedly asked authorities for help, including requests to be rehoused to protect her son from danger.

However, when CJ was sent to stay temporarily with relatives outside the borough, a Newham Council social worker declared that he was no longer at risk and closed his case.

In an email read to the court, McLeod expressed her distress at the time.

“I felt like we were working against each other. I was genuinely concerned for my son’s life,” McLeod told the inquest.

An independent safeguarding review presented at the inquest concluded that despite the escalating risk to CJ, there was no evidence of a robust safeguarding plan in place.