An angry gunman accidentally shot himself in the chest with a sawn-off shotgun and died after his revenge attack to murder his friend's killer failed, a court has heard.

Marley Lucas survived the "very bitter and vicious gang revenge attack" in Bromley on September 8, 2019 but Reece Ramsey-Johnson, 25, died that day, London's Woolwich Crown Court was told.

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Violence which was was "no accident" broke out just off High Street, Sydenham, after a gang of four men tracked down Lucas and tried to kill him, according to prosecutor Edward Brown QC.

Mr Brown said the attackers lay in wait armed with weapons including a fully-loaded sawn-off shotgun and they used a stolen and cloned blue Ford Fiesta as their getaway car.

Mr Brown said: "At about 3.30pm in the middle of the afternoon, a group of four men arrived dressed in dark clothing, their faces partially obscured with masks and wearing gloves.

"They were heavily armed. They had two sawn-off shotguns with live ammunition, one actually loaded and ready to fire immediately, further live ammunition and at least two very large knives literally to hand."

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The jury was told that Ramsey-Johnson was planning to use the loaded sawn-off shotgun on Lucas but accidentally killed himself after hitting the butt of it against a car in frustration and setting the weapon off.

The prosecution say the other gang members were Londoners Tai Simpson, Daniel Newhouse and Tarique Williams, all aged 23, who have each pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of Lucas.

Newhouse and Williams, both of Lewisham, and Simpson, of Hackney, each deny a total of eight charges.

They deny possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, possessing a prohibited firearm, having an altered firearm without a certificate and possessing ammunition without a certificate.

They also deny charges of threatening another person with a blade or a point, threatening with an article with a blade or point and also having an article with a blade or point.

Three of the four attackers got out of the car and Lucas may have quickly realised he was in "very grave danger", Mr Brown said.

Lucas's attackers had blocked his car in Venner Road, a dead-end street, but he was able to get away as Ramsey-Johnson approached him.

Lucas then "ran for his life" down Sydenham High Street chased on foot by two other men who were each carrying a very large knife, the jury heard.

Simpson and Williams were the knifemen who chased Lucas, Newhouse was the getaway driver and Ramsey-Johnson was the gunman out on the street, the prosecution say.

It was suggested that revenge may have been a possible motive for the attack as Lucas, stating that he killed out of self-defence, was acquitted by a jury in 2015 of the murder of a friend of the defendants and Ramsey-Johnson who was called Nathan Murray.

Lucas fled into a hair and beauty salon on the high street, followed by Simpson and Williams who hoped to "corner" him there.

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Newhouse was at the wheel of the car in Venner Road, ready to drive his accomplices away as quickly as possible when their target had been shot and stabbed "as plainly was the plan", Mr Brown said.

Of the circumstances surrounding Ramsey-Johnson's death, Mr Brown told the jury: "He missed his planned target. Indeed they missed their planned target.

"Lucas had moved just too quickly for Ramsey-Johnson."

He added: "Having lost his prey, and no doubt out of frustration and anger - you can just imagine there on the street the adrenalin that had built up from a person with a loaded shotgun in his hand - there by his intended victim's empty car, he hit out at the windscreen of Lucas's abandoned car.

"He used the butt of his shotgun. However, in a way he could never have expected, this action caused the weapon he had in his hands to fire off both barrels and he was hit by the shot, there in his chest - and he had shot and killed himself there on the road next to his intended victim's car."

Newhouse tried to help his dying friend but he "panicked" and appeared to be "in shock". Passers-by also tried to help Ramsey-Johnson, the jury was told.

Newhouse took the shotgun from the road and put it in the Fiesta "away from prying eyes", Mr Brown said.

Simpson and Williams returned and along with Newhouse drove off in the Fiesta, leaving Ramsey-Johnson behind, the court heard.

Two unarmed officers who attended the scene called for back-up after seeing the gunman.

The police and ambulance services attended but did not manage to save Ramsey-Johnson's life.

The hearing was adjourned to Friday at 10am.