A BUS driver who was gunned down outside a London pub had a “gentle heart” and “wouldn’t hurt a soul”, his heartbroken pals said.
Auguste-Marie Bile-aka Amoa, 25, known in the area as “Billy”, was arriving back home from work at Stockwell bus garage before he was killed on Monday night.
Cops and paramedics scrambled to the Landor Pub in Clapham, just before 10pm after receiving reports of gunfire.
Despite paramedics arriving within three minutes, he was pronounced dead at the scene and a 22-year-old was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Auguste was tragically in the “wrong place at the wrong time”, according to friends.
Speaking today at the scene, a close pal who grew up with Auguste said: “He was coming back from work to see his mum.
“He wasn’t dropping off his girlfriend. He lived just opposite with his mum.
“He lived opposite on the estate with her and was just parking up to get home. We think he was either followed or targeted by mistake.
“He was sitting in his car and was just about to get out to walk home.
“It happened right outside where he lives so I immediately messaged him on Snapchat to find out if he was okay.
“He didn’t reply for a few minutes which is unusual and I thought something had happened.
“I fell to my knees when I found out it was him. He didn’t deserve any of this.”
A police forensics tent remained in place across the road yesterday, while several bouquets of flowers were laid and a candle lit outside the pub.
Detective Chief Inspector Claire Guiver, who is leading the investigation, said: “Our thoughts remain with Bile-aka’s family as they come to terms with this tragic incident.
“We continue to appeal for anyone with information to come forward.
“If you were in the area at the time of the shooting, witnessed anything suspicious or have any CCTV, dashcam or doorbell footage that could assist our investigation, we urge you to get in touch.
“Any piece of information could prove vital in helping us piece together the full circumstances.”
Staff from The Landor are understood to have rushed to Auguste’s aid after the shooting.
Auguste’s pal added: “He had an incredibly kind and gentle heart and wouldn’t hurt a soul. He would never hurt anyone.
“He was proud of his job and who he became as a person. He had only started his life. He was an amazing man who was just very hardworking.
“He was always there for his friends and family who always put other first.”
Auguste, from Clapham, South London, had been a bus driver for about a year, friends said.
Today, a forensics team were seen trawling the floor just by the shooting step by step.
The Sun has seen CCTV footage showing a male wearing a moped helmet limping with “blood pouring out his mouth.”
It shows the man walking down a high road about a minute from the scene of the shooting.
A witness said: “The man shouted out: ‘I’ve been shot, I’ve been shot. I’ve been shot.
“He was walking away from the scene with a limp. He was holding his leg and there was blood pouring out his mouth.
“He looked very dazzled and out of it. He was on the phone grunting, calling for his friends to pick him up.”
The man, who did not want to be named, said he saw the man jump into a car which drove away before police arrived.
The male limping is understood to be the 22-year-old male who presented himself to hospital with a gunshot wound.
He was arrested on suspicion of murder.
This man remains in hospital under police guard.
