Detectives have established a possible link between the killing of a 15-year-old boy in Peckham, South London, and the fatal stabbing near by of a suspected drug offender two nights earlier.

They believe that Michael Dosunmu may have been the victim of mistaken identity when he was shot dead in the bedroom of his home early on Tuesday.

There have been three alleged murders in the South London area in four days: a 16-year-old boy was also shot dead at an ice rink in Streath-am on Saturday.

Police believe that the gun-men who killed Michael were looking for someone else at his home in Diamond Street, close to the spot where Damilola Taylor, 10, was fatally wounded seven years ago.

Events unfolded after Javorie Crighton, 21, a student on bail for drug offences, was found stabbed to death on Saturday afternoon. He had been involved in what was thought to be an argument about drugs with a man in Southampton Way.

On Monday night, Orando Madden, 23, from Peckham, was arrested in connection with Mr Crighton’s killing. Yesterday he was remanded in custody by Greenwich magistrates on suspicion of murder and will appear before the Old Bailey on May 16.

Within hours of Mr Madden’s arrest, about 1am on Tuesday, two men broke down the door of the home where Michael and his sister Ololade, a pharmacy student known as Lola, were sleeping in their rooms.

The intruders shot the boy. Lola tried to gave Michael first aid, but he died in hospital an hour later.

Michael’s father, Rasak, 50, was preparing yesterday to break the news of their son’s death to his mother, Shakira.

“My wife still doesn’t know,” Mr Dosumnu said. “She was on holiday in Lagos. I have phoned her to prepare her mind for bad news. I said Michael was sick and the situation was not good but when I see her at the airport I will have to tell her he has been murdered.”

Mr Dosunmu, a senior psychiatric staff nurse, was recovering from an injury in hospital on Monday night and had rung the house to check that all was well. “I spoke to my daughter Lola on the phone at around 11pm,” he said. “She was working on the computer and said Michael was already in bed.”

Police broke the news of Michael’s death to him at about 3am.

“Michael was a gentle, honest, easy-going boy. He always worked very hard at school and with his homework and got good grades. He wanted to be an architect. The last time I saw him was when he came to visit me in hospital on Sunday. It was his 15th birthday and he was really happy.

“It was such a shame that he had to spend the day in the hospital. I couldn’t buy him a present so I just gave him £10 but he was grateful for that. He was such a good boy.”

Michael was a regular at Sunday school who enjoyed outings to Legoland and used to be seen by neighbours helping friends to fix their bikes.

Lucy Cope, a neighbour of the family and a member of Mothers Against Guns, said: “Everyone knows Michael. He was not a bad boy. He was not involved in any gangs or drugs. What’s happened is barbaric.”

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