A SCHOOLGIRL who was shot in the head as she ate with her family at a restaurant was caught in the crossfire of two warring gangs, a court has heard.
The nine-year-old was critically injured when one of the six bullets fired in a drive buy shooting hit her in the head.
LNPPolice quickly cordoned off the scene[/caption]
She was eating with her family at the Evin restaurant on Kingsland High Street in Dalston, east London, on May 29 least year when the tragedy unfolded.
A bullet lodged in the young girls brain with three other men, who were sitting nearby, also struck by the gunfire during the “planned assassination” of rival gang members.
Mustafa Kiziltan, Kenan Aydogdu and Nasser Ali were all hit by the bullets and were rushed to hospital.
Javon Riley, 33, has pleaded not guilty to four charges of attempted murder together with others.
It is alleged Riley played “a key role before, during and after the shooting.”
He also pleaded not guilty to an alternative charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent against the girl, who cannot be named because of her age.
It is not alleged that Riley carried out the shooting from the back of a Ducati motorbike that stopped momentarily on the side of the road outside the restaurant.
The gunman from the horrific crime has never been tracked down.
Jurors at the Old Bailey were told the rider of the bike “raised his right arm and fired six shots in quick succession.”
The shooter hit their intended target, three men sitting in a group outside, but also struck the innocent young girl.
The critically injured schoolgirl had to go through several intensive operations at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
On Tuesday, prosecutor James Mulholland KC said: “Sections of her skull were removed to relieve swelling to the brain and these have since been replaced with a titanium plate. She was in hospital for three months before being allowed to return home.
“Although she has made a relatively good recovery, she will continue to have physical and cognitive difficulties throughout her life.”
The three wounded men were also rushed to hospital and treated for gunshot wounds to the thigh, leg and backbone respectively, all three made “a reasonable recovery.”
PAForensic officers attended the scene of the shooting as a desperate manhunt for the gunman was launched[/caption]
LNPThe shooter has never been identified[/caption]
Mr Mulholland added: “The prosecution case is that this was a planned assassination of members of a rival gang by Mr Riley and others.
“This is evident from the degree of planning involved, his behaviour and comments before, during and after the event – as well as common sense.
“Those who wanted this shooting to take place put the planning of the event under Mr Riley’s control, possibly with the assistance of others.”
Mr Mulholland stated that the shooting appeared to have been part of “an ongoing dispute” between two rival gangs in London.
The gangs are reportedly known as the Tottenham Turks and the Hackney Turks, also known as the “Bombacilars.”
According to authorities the “immediate reason” for the horrific gangland hit, that saw a nine-year-old shot in the head, is unknown.
Those seated outside restaurant had affiliations towards the Hackney Turks and the ones who had ordered the shooting were from the Tottenham Turks, the prosecution claimed.
The court heard that Riley was “vital in the carrying out of the plan to kill.”
Following the harrowing shooting, the gunman fled the scene on their Ducati motorbike.
They stopped on a nearby street where Riley was waiting in a stolen Nissan Juke on false plates.
They then “calmly” headed to north London before transferring into Riley’s Range Rover.
Covert police recordings in the months after the shooting, show Riley talking about a man called Izzet Eren, who is linked to the Tottenham Turks and was shot in Moldova on July 10 last year.
His shooting was widely believed to be a revenge attack.
Riley also spoke on the recordings about a man called “Kem” who the prosecution believe is Kemal Eren – one of those closely involved in the Tottenham Turks.
Mr Mulholland told the jury: “You will hear in conversations covertly recorded in a car used by Javon Riley some time after the shooting that, although he was not a member of the Tottenham Turks, he clearly knew of them and was linked to them and that they were behind the shooting.”
LNPPolice raced to the scene of the shooting[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
