THE stepson of celebrity gangster Dave Courtney has been blasted to death in a gangland execution
, it emerged yesterday.
Genson Courtney, 23, was shot in the head at close range as he sat in a car close to London’s O2 Arena.
Detectives are investigating the theory that he was lured to the spot after being caught up in a feud between rival gangs.
The suspected gunman was seen running away.
The death is a crushing blow to Dave Courtney, who rose to fame in the 1990s as a self-styled gangland enforcer.
Bragging of friendships with notorious gangsters including the Kray twins, the 52-year-old claimed to be the model for the Vinnie Jones character in the movie Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels.
Genson was shot as he sat in a black Volkswagen Golf in Banning Street, Greenwich, shortly before 11pm on Sunday, Scotland Yard said.
Police found him slumped in the car with gunshot wounds to his head and shoulder.
Paramedics rushed him to hospital where surgeons fought to keep him alive but he died in the early hours of yesterday.
Speaking at his home in Plumstead, south London, Dave Courtney said: “I’m shell-shocked.
“Police have been here all day and they are inside now so I don’t want to say anything other than I’m devastated.”
Officers from the Yard’s Operation Trident squad, which investigates shootings in the black community, are appealing for witnesses.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Gowe said: “At this early stage, it is believed a male suspect may have ran from the scene in the direction of Christchurch Way, Greenwich, shortly after the shooting.
“I am appealing to anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious to contact the police.” He added: I would like to reassure anyone that Trident has great expertise in protecting witnesses and there are a huge variety of measures that can be put in place to protect you.”
Dave Courtney’s claims of gangland connections have been questioned in the past.
He was only nine when the Krays were jailed, but he claims to have arranged security for Ronnie Kray’s funeral in 1995.
He also bragged that he has been shot at, stabbed and had part of his nose bitten off during his “tough guy” career in the underworld.
In 2004 he was cleared of attacking his wife, Jennifer Pinto, over an alleged lesbian affair.
Four years earlier, he walked free from the Old Bailey after he was cleared of taking part in a plot to plant cocaine on an innocent woman.
During the trial, he was named as a registered police informant using the alias “Tommy Mack”.
But Courtney insisted he simply took advantage of the system to disguise a relationship with a corrupt detective.
“I have never been a grass,” he said.
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