‘His life in England wasn’t easy’: Innocent Deliveroo driver, 21, who was killed in Brixton shootout was looking forward to becoming a godfather to his brother’s twins in Brazil after ‘suffering a lot’ during his time in Britain, mother reveals
- Deliveroo driver who was tragically killed in gangland shooting was ‘suffering a lot’ during his time in London
- Guilherme Messias da Silva, 21, was recently asked to be a godfather and was hoping to return home to Brazil
- He was run off his moped after a delivery and killed alongside rapper Lamar Scott in Brixton on Sunday night
- Guilherme’s grieving mother revealed he’d been robbed twice in London and was saving to travel home
A Deliveroo driver who tragically became collateral damage in a gangland shooting was robbed twice while living in London and ‘suffering’ before he made plans to return to Brazil – where he was about to become a godfather.
Guilherme Messias da Silva, 21, moved to London seeking a better life but struggled to make ends meet, with high repayments on his moped and soaring costs for everyday living expenses.
Shortly before he was killed on Sunday night alongside rapper Lamar Scott, 27, in Brixton, Guilherme told colleagues and his family he hoped to save enough money to return home by December.
He became the latest victim of lawless London while completing his final takeaway delivery for the night on Sunday. He was thrown from his bike and struck by a car in a pursuit with another vehicle, believed to have been part of a gangland dispute.
Lamar, a rapper who performed under the stage name Perm and the son of well known boxing promoter Dean Whyte, died in the shooting. It’s believed he was the intended target of the attack.
Guilherme Messias da Silva, 21, moved to London seeking a better life but struggled to make ends meet, with high repayments on his Moped and soaring costs for everyday living expenses
Shortly before he was killed on Sunday night Guilherme (pictured with his mother and stepfather) told colleagues and his family he hoped to save enough money to return home by December
Guilherme’s grieving mother, nursing technician Rosângela Messias de Sousa, told MailOnline she woke up every morning and asked God to protect him, particularly given he was so far from home.
‘We knew he was suffering,’ she said. ‘He wanted to come to Brazil and live near me but he wasn’t in a position to do so because he didn’t have the money.’
Guilherme was doubly motivated to return home as soon as he could because his older brother had recently announced his wife was expecting twins. The 21-year-old was asked to be their godfather, and he was honoured.
‘He was suffering a lot in Britain,’ Rosângela said, adding he was ‘very happy’ to have been asked to be a godfather.
Speaking as police continue to hunt her son’s assailants, Rosângela said her son was hardworking and positive but had repeatedly faced setbacks since arriving in London.
He’d been robbed twice since moving to the city and was struggling to repay the loan he had to take out on his moped, which was his form of transportation and how he earned a living.
‘He wasn’t the sort of person who’d talk much about his problems but I knew he had them,’ Rosângela said. ‘He was always struggling for money… With the money he earned he found it hard.’
The first time he was robbed, he called his family in tears, revealing thieves had jumped over a wall at night to take his bicycle, which had cost more than £1,000.
Guilherme’s grieving mother, nursing technician Rosângela Messias de Sousa, told MailOnline she woke up every morning and asked God to protect him, particularly given he was so far from home
Guilherme was struck off his bike during the shooting. Pictures from the scene show a smashed up car and a scooter
His family were in a position to help financially and sent money to help him buy a second-hand motorbike to continue working, but again that was stolen.
‘At night in traffic, they came at him and knocked him to the ground and stole the motorbike before setting it on fire,’ she said, adding that he’d made complaints to local police about the incidents.
‘I insisted he should come home but he said he had to work. I would ask him about his problems because we spoke every day but he would simply say, ”Only God knows what I live”.’
Seeking a better life as a teenager, Guilherme first moved to Belgium from his family’s small farm in Brazil and worked on a stud farm but after nearly a year and a half returned because he felt alone without his friends and family.
‘He stayed in Brazil for a time and I didn’t want him to leave again but he decided to head to England and because he was so upbeat about it, I ended up accepting it and not trying to stop him,’ Rosângela recalled.
Seeking a better life as a teenager, Guilherme first moved to Belgium from his family’s small farm in Brazil and worked on a stud farm (pictured during his time in Belgium) but after nearly a year and a half returned because he felt alone without his friends and family
Lamar Scott, 27, a rapper who performed under the stage name Perm and the son of well known boxing promoter Dean Whyte, died in the shooting. It’s believed he was the intended target of the attack
Debris from vehicles is seen on Railton Road, Brixton, following yesterday’s gun attack which has left two people dead
He’d spent much of his childhood working with horses and cattle, which was his passion, but he sought a better life overseas.
Rosângela broke down the moment she learned of her son’s tragic death.
‘I went into despair, screamed, fainted. It’s very sad, my heart is bleeding. It hurts everything,’ she said.
She said she would speak to Guilherme every day on the phone, revealing their last phone call was just hours before he died.
‘It was very windy and we couldn’t hear each other very well and we arranged to speak again in the afternoon, about 6pm our time when his stepdad returned from the farm,’ she said.
Instead, that’s about the time Guilherme’s friend from London made contact with her to break the tragic news.
Flowers are left near the scene in Railton Road, Brixton, where two men were killed after a car chase ended in a fatal moped collision and a shooting
The 46-year-old mother, who lived on the family farm in Petrolina de Goias in Brazil’s central Goias state with Guilherme’s stepfather Cirilo Antonio Machado, 67, said she feels ‘destroyed by what happened’.
‘No mother deserves to go through this.
‘I asked God to protect him and accompany him all day every day.’
Now, the family’s attention has turned to how they’re going to afford to bring Guilherme’s body back to Brazil.
‘We’re having some problems bringing his body back to Brazil and his friends are helping in London but we know it’s going to cost money we don’t have and we’re desperate,’ she said.
Guilherme’s stepdad added: ‘We’re in shock. Guilherme was a happy, communicative lad who was a good friend of his friends, a hard worker, someone who never caused any problems. It’s proving very difficult to deal with all this.
‘I hope they catch everyone involved. We confide in the English police and we know the people who shattered the dreams of an honest young man full of hope, are not going to go unpunished.’
Guilherme (pictured) was tragically killed when the drill rapper swerved and jumped out of his car to flee the assailants, who remain on the run. The car careered out of control and hit Guilherme’s moped
Only a day before his death, Perm took to Instagram to share a post with friends and fellow artists, with the post: ‘Ran thru the dirt but came out cleaner they wouldn’t get it.’
The shooting was the latest in a spate of gun attacks in the capital, including an incident in Ilford, east London on October 25 that saw two men killed and another injured.
Lamar, who performed as Perm, was believed to be the intended target of the attack.
Perm was a member of the CT drill group, who share their name with a gang of the same name, known as ClapTown (CT). Claptown operate around the Lambeth area, specifically in the Clapham High Road area.
They are known to have bitter feuds with other Lambeth gangs, particularly the ’67’ gang, based around Brixton Hill. The rivalry had been partly documented in drill music videos posted on YouTube.
Perm’s death comes after he released a new album last month named ‘Germs’. He had promoted the video on Youtube, including scenes from the Notre Dame estate in Clapham, south London.
Metropolitan Police were called at around 7.50pm on Sunday night to reports of gun fire on Railton Road
His father is the well-known boxing manager Dean Whyte, a close friend of British heavyweight Dillian Whyte.
Though Dean and Dillian have often referred to each other as brothers, the pair are, in reality, good friends. They have also worked together on Dillian’s boxing career.
Residents near the fatal gun attack on Railton Road say at least 12 shots were fired during the shocking incident, which took place around 7.50pm Sunday night.
Chief Superintendent Colin Wingrove of the Central South Command Unit, responsible for policing Lambeth and Southwark, said: ‘I am shocked and saddened by this incident. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the two young men who have tragically lost their lives.
‘This incident will cause a great deal of concern throughout the local community and across London. ‘We are supporting Specialist Crime detectives, who are working at pace to confirm the specific sequence of events and identify and arrest those responsible.
‘Local officers are on the scene and patrolling the local area to speak to local residents, seek witnesses and provide visible reassurance. I would urge anyone with any information however small to come forward to help bring whoever is responsible to justice.’
The Met said residents will see an enhanced police presence in the area and have been advised to speak with officers if they have any information.
The investigation is ongoing.
Source: Read Full Article
