A teenage boy was shot dead and stabbed with a machete outside a music studio in Tottenham, a court has heard. 

Seven men and one woman are on trial accused of murdering 17-year-old Tyler McDermott on April 13, 2023. 

“Tension and hostility” had been brewing between two groups of young people who were all present in the music studio that morning, prosecutor John Price KC said.

Tyler and his friends were in one group while defendants Tyrese Barnett, Leo Reid and the six others, were in the other, jurors were told. 

The events were captured on CCTV footage, Mr Price said: “The man who shot Tyler McDermott in the head is Tyrese Barnett. 

“The man who struck him to the lower body with the machete after he had fallen to the ground is Leo Reid. 

“They showed they both intended and desired that Tyler McDermott should die.” 

Mr Price said Reid had attacked the victim as he lay “stricken and defenceless on the ground”. 

Despite the efforts of paramedics, Tyler died in hospital the following day. 

The two alleged attackers were identified by police and found two days later sitting together at Heathrow Airport with one-way tickets to Jamaica, the court heard. 

Mr Price understood Barnett would claim that “he pulled the trigger by accident” and had not deliberately aimed the gun at Tyler.

The CCTV showed the gun was fired twice, with the second shot fired at Tyler’s friend, Kamali Lindo, the prosecutor said. 

He said: “What then is his explanation for the second shot? Was it yet another accident of the same kind?”

The prosecution did not allege Reid caused Tyler’s death with the machete, but it did help prove he shared guilt for the murder, the court heard.

The other six defendants, including 19-year-old Shernez Walters, were present in the music studio and in Norman Street when the shots were fired – and it would be for the prosecution to prove if they were assisting or encouraging the crime, Mr Price said.

Barnett, 20, of no fixed address, denies the murder, attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. 

Reid, 20, from Tulse Hill, denies murder but admits possession of an offensive weapon. 

Rhys Antwi, 19, of Prentis Road in Streatham, denies murder but has pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon. 

Tyrese Matthews, 20, of Black Prince Road in Kennington; Alfred Coker, 21, of Bowen Drive in Sydenham; Damaris McBeth, 19, of The Glade in Croydon; Kalam Bagge, 19, of Nimrod Road in Tooting, and Walters, of Hendon Gardens in Romford, all deny murder. 

The Old Bailey trial continues.