Wandsworth Bathstore caught up in shoot-out

A Bathstore on a street in south-west London was caught up in a shoot-out this week that left a teenager seriously injured.

The attack happened just after midnight on Monday morning in York Road, Wandsworth, leaving a bullet hole in the window of the store.

The Bathstore was forced to shut at about 10:30am on Monday when police closed the road and conducted an investigation, according to the store manager. It reopened later that afternoon.

Store manager Alex Whiteman said it was a “shock” coming into work on Monday morning.

“The road wasn’t closed when I came in, but there were a lot of police cars about. We opened as normal and we had some appointments lined up, so we had customers in the shop when the police told us we had to close because they were shutting the road.

“We opened again at about 3pm. It was a bad day for sales.”

But since then, Whiteman said, everything had returned to normal, except for the bullet hole through the glass, which Whiteman said he needs to report to get a replacement.

“It doesn’t go right through,” he said. “It must have rebounded.”

Whiteman said before this, he had never been affected by the violent crime that has been on the rise in London over the past few years.

“After we had to close the store, residents were complaining to us about drug-dealing in the area, but I’ve never seen any crime.”

A statement released by the Bathstore head office said: “Our Wandsworth store remains open and trading as usual.

“The unfortunate events outside our store in the early hours of Sunday morning are a police matter and we have no further comment other than to wish the injured teenager a speedy recovery.”

The York road bathroom store is on the ground floor of a five-storey luxury block of flats.

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