A child was critically hurt in a drive-by gunshot while eating with her family at a restaurant in northeast London.
A nine-year-old girl is in critical condition after being shot and critically injured by a hitman on a motorbike while eating with her family at a Turkish restaurant.
Witnesses described scenes of fear and terror as shots were fired from a motorbike that pulled up outside the Evin restaurant in Dalston, north-east London, at around 9.20 p.m. on Wednesday.
The restaurant owner told the Guardian that he saw a man on the motorbike as diners raced for shelter, and that the wounded child was “very lively and happy in the moments before the shooting”. She was shot in front of her parents, and the mother was distressed as her daughter lay seriously injured.
Parts of the incident, including the motorcyclist pulling up outside the restaurant, were captured on CCTV, which detectives are reviewing. Three males, ages 26, 37, and 42, who were dining outside were hit and wounded.
At least one gunshot struck the renowned Turkish eatery on Kingsland High Street, badly injuring the girl. Police believe she was unknown to the three men who were shot.
Police said the injured adults were stable, but one of the men suffered “life-changing injuries.” Police believe the incident was planned.
The motorbike believed to have been used in the attack was discovered abandoned on Colvestone Crescent, some 200 yards from the firing scene.
According to DCS James Conway, a nine-year-old girl who was inside the restaurant with her family for supper had a gunshot wound and is still in critical condition in the hospital. We do not believe the girl and the males who were hurt knew each other. “She, like any other child, was an innocent victim of the indiscriminate nature of gun crime.”
Gazi Degirmenci, the restaurant’s owner, told the Guardian that the injured youngster was with at least one other child and adults eating supper inside the restaurant. “The child was very lively and really cute,” he added. “I believe she was bouncing on the chairs when the shots were fired. They were eating dinner as a family. There was obviously another child, because that child was quite afraid.
“We just heard gunshots…” And then it was over in maybe five or ten seconds, maybe a minute at most. A group of people were seated outside in front of the restaurant, and it looks that they were targeted by [a man] on a motorbike.
We were shocked, and everyone fell to the floor to defend themselves. “There was a lot of shouting, and we understood that one of the bullets had hit a youngster inside. “The child was not with them [the three men outside], but was sitting at a table behind them.”
Speaking in Turkish, Degirmenci stated that the girl was part of a party of six individuals, including her mother and father. He detailed the “unimaginable horror” of the moments after the mother and father discovered what had happened: “We were stunned, and everyone fell to the floor and tried to protect themselves.” There was a lot of shouting, and we discovered that one of the bullets had struck a youngster inside.
“It is extremely traumatic, and we are devastated by what happened to that youngster. As you could expect, the mother was in a very horrible state. We provided assistance and attempted to stop the bleeding. It is an unimaginable horror.
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