Teen shot outside Wembley Stadium as London police increase patrols in area

An 18-year-old is fighting for his life after being shot steps from Wembley Stadium in northwest London early Sunday, police said.

Officers were called to Atlantic Crescent at 5:27 a.m. local time to reports of a shooting outside a bar, the Metropolitan Police said.

They found an 18-year-old with a gunshot wound.

The victim was rushed to a major trauma center and remains in critical condition, according to police.

No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing, police said.

London Ambulance Service said it was called at 5:26 a.m. and dispatched an ambulance crew and paramedics along with a trauma team from London’s Air Ambulance.

“We treated a patient at the scene and took him to a major trauma centre,” a spokesperson said.

Chief Superintendent Tony Josephs, who oversees local policing in northwest London, appealed to the public for information that could lead to an arrest.

“We recognize the shock and impact this incident will have on the community,” Josephs said.

“The investigation is in its very early stages and we are working at pace to establish the full circumstances.”

Josephs said that “there will be an increased police presence in the local area.”

“We’d urge anyone who may know something about this incident, however small it may seem, to please get in touch and let us know,” the chief superintendent said.

South Way, a street adjacent to the stadium, was shut in both directions as officers worked the scene. Police remained at the cordon through Sunday while searches and forensic work continued.

Local police didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.