Wednesday 2 November 2022 12:58 PM Deliveroo driver killed in Brixton shootout was becoming a godfather and ... trends now

A Deliveroo driver who tragically became collateral damage in a gangland shooting was robbed twice while living in London and 'suffering' before he made plans to return to Brazil - where he was about to become a godfather.

Guilherme Messias da Silva, 21, moved to London seeking a better life but struggled to make ends meet, with high repayments on his moped and soaring costs for everyday living expenses.

Shortly before he was killed on Sunday night alongside rapper Lamar Scott, 27, in Brixton, Guilherme told colleagues and his family he hoped to save enough money to return home by December.

He became the latest victim of lawless London while completing his final takeaway delivery for the night on Sunday. He was thrown from his bike and struck by a car in a pursuit with another vehicle, believed to have been part of a gangland dispute.

Lamar, a rapper who performed under the stage name Perm and the son of well known boxing promoter Dean Whyte, died in the shooting. It's believed he was the intended target of the attack.

Guilherme's grieving mother, nursing technician Rosângela Messias de Sousa, told MailOnline she woke up every morning and asked God to protect him, particularly given he was so far from home.

'We knew he was suffering,' she said. 'He wanted to come to Brazil and live near me but he wasn't in a position to do so because he didn't have the money.'

Guilherme was doubly motivated to return home as soon as he could because his older brother had recently announced his wife was expecting twins. The 21-year-old was asked to be their godfather, and he was honoured.

'He was suffering a lot in Britain,' Rosângela said, adding he was 'very happy' to have been asked to be a godfather.

Speaking as police continue to hunt her son's assailants, Rosângela said her son was hardworking and positive but had repeatedly faced setbacks since arriving in London.

He'd been robbed twice since moving to the city and was struggling to repay the loan he had to take out on his Moped, which was his form of transportation and how he earned a living.

'He wasn't the sort of person who'd talk much about his problems but I knew he had them,' Rosângela said. 'He was always struggling for money... With the money he earned he found it hard.'

The first time he was robbed, he called his family in tears, revealing thieves had jumped over a wall at night to take his bicycle, which had cost more than £1,000.

His family were in a position to help financially and sent money to help him buy a second-hand motorbike to continue working, but again that was stolen.

'At night in traffic, they came at him and knocked him to the ground and stole the motorbike before setting it on fire,' she said, adding that he'd made complaints to local police about the incidents.

'I insisted he should come home but he said he had to work. I would ask him about his problems because we spoke every day but he would simply say, ''Only God knows what I live''.'

Seeking a better life as a teenager, Guilherme first moved to Belgium from his family's small farm in Brazil and worked on a stud farm but after nearly a year and a half returned because he felt alone without his friends and family.

'He stayed in Brazil for a time and I didn't want him to leave again but he decided to head to England and because he was so upbeat about it, I ended up accepting it and not trying to stop him,' Rosângela recalled.