Grieving family hopes splits in violent gang will solve who murdered innocent 'Ronnie' Khan at funeral two years ago

'There may be people out there now who two years ago wouldn't want to speak to us' says Detective Inspector Jamie Piscopo

Azezur Khan, 21, was shot dead while attending the funeral of a young gang member (PA)

Splits and changing alliances within a violent London gang could provide the breakthrough to solve the two-year-old murder of an innocent man at a funeral, police said.

Azezur 'Ronnie' Khan was shot dead outside a cemetery in an apparent latest chapter of a gangland feud between two south London groups.

Mr Khan, 21, was not affiliated to a gang but was among a small group of mourners attending the funeral of his school friend, a member of the Lambeth-based GAS gang, when he was shot after he left to get a drink.

Police suspect the shooting was carried out by a member of the Peckham Young Guns, a rival neighbouring group and while the suspected murder weapon has been found and ten people arrested, nobody has been charged with the killing.

The family of Mr Khan told how their lives had halted after his death. "We were hoping that the police would have found out who had done it within a couple of weeks," said the dead man's brother Pinto Khan. "Now it's been two years. They have the murder weapon but there's been no closure and nobody's coming forward.

"In reality, there are plenty of people who know who it is," Mr Khan told the Independent. "Two years ago is a long time, but to us it's like yesterday. The pain is still there."

Mr Khan was shot several times as he left the funeral of Joel Morgan, a known member of the GAS Gang, who had died in a road accident. A 17-year-old was also shot and wounded during the incident on November 3, 2011.

A police watchdog report criticised police over the shooting after it emerged that Mr Morgan's mother had asked for officers to be present because of concerns that her son's grave would be attacked. Warnings were not passed on and no police attended the ceremony.

A reward for £20,000 has now been offered by police to try to solve the murder of Mr Khan, a religious young man and a mentor at his local mosque.

"Allegiances change, people mature and move on," said Detective Inspector Jamie Piscopo, of the Metropolitan police. "There may be people out there now who two years ago wouldn't want to speak to us."

Gang members have been jailed for possession of weapons found during police searches, including the suspected murder weapon. Forensics were unable to identify who fired the fatal shot. A shortage of guns on the streets means weapons are regularly passed between criminals and the identity of the murderer remains unclear.

"Ronnie was a good person. He wished nobody any harm and this reflected in his good natured personality," his brother said. "Now my mother has to sleep in his bed if she wants to feel close to him. She dreams of something none of us will ever be able to give her. Two years on and we still have his clothes in his wardrobe, left the way he left it. We are stuck here, unable to move on with our lives."

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the investigation team on 020 8721 4805, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.