JNN 10 Aug 2011 London : The man shot by police whose death sparked the first riots in Tottenham died from a single bullet wound to the chest, an inquest has heard.

Mark Duggan, 29, was shot in Ferry Lane, Tottenham, north London, on Thursday after officers stopped the cab he was in to carry out an arrest.

The North London Coroner’s Court in High Barnet heard the father-of-four died of a single bullet wound.

Coroner Andrew Walker adjourned the hearing until 12 December.

Mr. Walker told members of Mr. Duggan’s family: “Can I just offer my deepest sympathies to the family of Mark Duggan.

“As members of the family will know, in due course there will be an inquest touching the death of Mark Duggan and this is the first stage in that process.

“Of course, as well as offering our deepest sympathies to members of the family, I would like to reassure members of the family that we will be working closely with the IPCC throughout the process.”

Colin Sparrow, deputy senior investigator for the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which is looking into the shooting, told the hearing the inquiry could take up to six months.

Mr. Duggan’s death occurred during an operation where specialist firearms officers were attempting to carry out an arrest.

The 29-year-old, a passenger in a minicab, was shot after an apparent exchange of fire with the officers from Operation Trident, the unit which deals with gun crime in the African and Caribbean communities.

A police officer’s radio was later found to have a bullet lodged in it.

The IPCC immediately announced it would investigate the incident and later said it believed that two shots had been fired by police.

It also confirmed that an illegal firearm was recovered from the scene.

His elder brother Shaun Hall called on the police to “come clean” about the circumstances of the fatal shooting on Thursday evening.

It is understood two shots were fired by officers after they stopped the cab in which he was a passenger to carry out a pre-planned arrest.

According to Met sources Duggan died after firing a handgun at an armed policeman, who survived after a bullet hit his radio.

An officer returned fire with a Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun – hitting Duggan twice.

But it was reported last night that initial scientific tests showed the bullet said to have hit the radio was a police issue round.

If confirmed that could throw a shadow over first reports of an exchange of fire between Mr Duggan and police who approached him.

Just moments earlier Mr Duggan had sent a message to friends revealing that he had spotted men from Operation Trident, which investigates gun crime in the black community, following him in a green unmarked Volkswagen van.

In his last message sent from his BlackBerry, Mr Duggan told close pals: “Watch out 4 a green vw van its trident dey jus jammed me.”

Only minutes later Mr Duggan, 29, was shot. He died at the scene.

Placed under surveillance because of fears he would try to avenge his cousin’s murder, Mark Duggan was described as a “well known gangster” by police sources.

Before he was stopped Mr Duggan sent his girlfriend Semone Wilson, 29, a message saying: “The Feds are following me.”

His cousin Kevin Easton, a rapper known as Smegz, was stabbed to death outside La Boheme nightclub in Mile End, East London, in March.

Mr Duggan, known as Starrish Mark, was said to have been a member of the North London gang Tottenham Man Dem, which has been linked to Jamaican “yardie” criminals and is responsible for a series of murders.

Speaking at the family’s home in Tottenham last night Mr Duggan’s mother Pamela said: “I can’t sleep. I can’t think. We’re all in a dreadful state. I haven’t been able to go out of the house for days.”

His brother Mr Hall, 42, added: “The police have not been to my home since Mark was killed. We want to know why that is. I’ve got two parents upstairs who are shaking. They want to know what happened to their son.

“They don’t have any answers – that is what they need.

“I would say to people please don’t make this about my brother’s life. My brother was a good man.”

The Tottenham Man Dem gang was said to have taken root on the Broadwater Farm Estate prior to the riots in 1985.

One member, Mark Lambie, who was cleared of murdering PC Keith Blakelock during the ­disturbance, was convicted in 2002 of kidnapping two men and torturing them with a hammer and an electric iron and pouring boiling water over their genitals.

And two further members, Junior Cameron, of Hornsey, North London, and Darrell Albert, from Brent, were given double life sentences in 2009 for gunning down Gary Guthrie, 35, in Streatham, South London.

An Independent Police Complaints Commission spokesman said: “We await further forensic analysis to enable us to have a fuller and more comprehensive account of what shots were discharged, the sequence of events and what exactly happened. In the meantime we would request people are patient while we seek answers to the questions raised by this incident.”

The IPCC is conducting an investigation into why the father-of-six was shot. Last night IPCC commissioner Rachel Cerfontayne said that a non-police firearm had been found at the scene of Mr Duggan’s death.

Ms Cerfontayne said: “Mark Duggan’s family and the community in Tottenham need answers about what happened to him.

“Speculation that Mark Duggan was ‘assassinated’ in an execution style involving a number of shots to the head are ­categorically untrue.

“Following the formal identification of the body, Mr Duggan’s family know that this is not the case. I would ask anyone reporting this to be aware of its ­inaccuracy and its inflammatory nature.”

She went on to appeal for calm and added: “The distress that Mr Duggan’s family are in the midst of is understandable, but the violence and disorder we have witnessed over the last 24 hours can never be acceptable.”