A VIOLENT thug is facing jail after a nine-year-old girl was shot in the head when a gunman opened fire in a “planned assassination” of rival gangsters.
The youngster was eating with her family inside the Turkish restaurant in Dalston, East London, when the horror unfolded.
Central NewsThe girl was shot by an unknown gunman on a motorbike[/caption]
PAJavon Riley had a key role in the planning of the shooting[/caption]
She was caught in the crossfire as six shots were fired in two seconds by a gunman on a Ducati Monster motorbike.
The girl , who cannot be named, will be left with “physical and cognitive difficulties throughout her life” after a bullet lodged in her brain.
Javon Riley, 33, was today found guilty of attempting to murder three men and causing grievous bodily harm to the girl.
The gunman has never been caught with cops offering a £15,000 reward for information that leads to his capture.
The Old Bailey heard the horror was a “planned assassination of members of a rival gang by Mr Riley and others”.
A gruesome rivalry between two rival groups in London known as the Tottenham Turks and the Hackney Turks had been mounting for over a decade.
In the months leading up to the shooting, Riley sat in the bar opposite Evin restaurant sipping on a pina colada as he studied traffic flow in the area.
On May 29, 2024, he drove from North London in a stolen car and cruised past the restaurant several times to ensure his rivals from the Hackney Turks were inside.
As the girl innocently tucked into some ice cream, the gunman hit the girl in the head and blasted Mustafa Kiziltan, Kenan Aydogdu and Nasser Ali.
The court heard while he did not fire the weapon, Riley played a key role in orchestrating and implementing a plan intended to end the lives of his rival gangsters.
The girl was rushed to hospital where she underwent several intensive operations.
Several parts of her skull had to be removed to ease swelling to her brain and replaced with a titanium plate.
She had to stay in hospital for three months before being allowed to return home.
While the youngster has made “a relatively good recovery”, she will struggle physically and mentally for the rest of her life.
Her mum said: “In a single moment, the future we had imagined for our daughter was torn away. She was once an energetic, adventurous child — everything that celebrated movement, energy, and life.
“Now, weakness on her left side means she can only watch from the sidelines, living with a titanium plate in her skull and a bullet still in her brain.
“As parents, we are shattered — emotionally, physically, mentally, and financially. Each day brings new challenges, from her slower growth on one side to the emotional and mental scars that cannot be seen.
“The world we once believed was safe for our child now feels frightening and uncertain. This was not just an accident — even if our daughter was not the intended target, those responsible were still attempting to take lives, It is brutal and inhumane.
“We live with this pain every day, knowing nothing will ever be the same for our family.”
Riley will be sentenced on September 12.
Paul EdwardsThe girl was shot as she ate with her family[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
