Witnesses have described seeing a man in his 20s being fatally shot near a London prison in broad daylight.

The man died on Roman Way beside Pentonville prison in Islington on Saturday afternoon.

Police and London Ambulance Service crews were called to the scene at around 3.20pm, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

A witness told the PA news agency he saw the “shocking” incident from his window.

“I heard around seven shots, ran to window, and a guy on a bike or moped rode off,” he said.

“He was looking back. When I looked to the park, I could see a guy staggering then (he) fell.

“That was it, then police came. They are taping the area now… No-one’s allowed to leave.

“There’s always crime around here, the shooting is shocking, but not much of a surprise.

“It’s not nice though, especially near the local park.”

The witness, Twitter user @AlpsLifee – who did not wish to share his real name – shared a video of the scene which shows a playground next to the police cordon on Roman Way.

Another man from the area who did not wish to be named said he “knew the victim well”, having heard their identity from a friend.

“He was just one of the younger kids from my area who I knew from my time in hanging around on the Caledonian Road/Bemerton estate, I saw him a few weeks ago near Paradise Park,” he told PA.

“It’s very sad and I feel for his family… but this young man is probably the tenth person I know from the borough to die due to violence so it’s hardly a shock any more.

“It’s more shocking that he was shot rather than stabbed, if anything.

“The Caledonian Road has a huge problem with gang rivalries… the rivalries are not dying out as the generations change, they are getting worse, and I really don’t have any answers on what we can do to change that.”

Islington resident Emi Koizumi Watson, an American with British citizenship, said she heard “what sounded like nine rounds being rapidly fired”.

“We assumed it was probably just fireworks because we never hear gunshots here. But we’ve both (Ms Watson and her husband Leon Watson) fired guns before and this sounded like a handgun,” the 46-year-old told PA.

“I went out on the balcony but couldn’t see anything so just came back inside and called my parents on FaceTime to say happy fourth of July.”

While on the call Ms Watson, who has lived in the area for 12 years, then heard a helicopter and sirens and saw an air ambulance arrive nearby.

“I must be still in shock that it’s happened. I don’t know what I feel,” she said.

“I’ve just been telling my family how safe the UK is from gun violence compared to the US… my thoughts are with the family and friends of the young man that was killed. How awful.”

A woman who lives nearby and did not want to be named said she heard “five or six” gunshots which she initially thought were fireworks, and described the incident as “heartbreaking”.

The victim’s family has been told, and Scotland Yard has said no arrests have been made.

The Metropolitan Police said it was too early to say whether the shooting was linked to Pentonville, which is one of the country’s oldest and busiest jails housing a men’s prison and a young offender institution.

Anyone who witnessed the incident, or who has video or images that could assist, is asked to call 101 referencing CAD 4432/4 July.