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Damian Cope

Age: 22

Sex: male

Date: 29 Jul 2002

Place: Great Queen Street, Holborn, London

Damian Cope was shot outside Browns Nightclub in Holborn on 29 July 2002.

He was shot in the abdomen outside in the street but managed to run 50 yards back to the nightclub before collapsing. He died six hours later in hospital.

A man was charged with his murder but the case was dropped before reaching court when two of Damian Cope's friends refused to give evidence. However, the man charged was himself later shot dead in 2006.

A witness said that Damian Cope had identified the man that had shot him as the man charged, as he lay dying but the witness didn't give his name to the police or give a statement.

Another man also said that Damian Cope had identified his killer to him as well about seven and a half minutes after he had collapsed. However, the man refused to appear in court and other medical evidence was found that cast doubt on the dying declaration. The medical evidence stated that it would have been unlikely in the extreme that Damian Cope would have been able to speak to him at the time that he said that he told him who had shot him. Also, it was heard that a bouncer said that he had been with Damian Cope all the time after he collapsed and swore that Damian Cope didn't say a word.

It was said that Damian Cope had received a phone call whilst in the club from someone that he knew and that he had then gone outside and walked to the junction of Great Queen Street and Newton Street where he was shot in the abdomen with a small calibre gun.

Three cars were seen near the scene, a black BMW, a silver BMW and a Peugeot.

Damian Cope's brother, Sean Cope, was also murdered. He was stabbed in 1998 in another unsolved case.


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