UK
Hackney shooting: Girl, 9, ‘fighting for her life’ after attack at east London restaurant
A girl is in a critical condition after being shot by an attacker on a motorbike while having dinner with her family.
The nine-year-old was one of four people injured shortly after 9pm on Wednesday at a restaurant in Hackney, east London.
Police said the girl was “fighting for her life”, while three men who were sat outside – aged 26, 37 and 42 – are in a stable condition.
One of them faces “potentially faces life-changing injuries”, said Chief Superintendent James Conway.
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Witnesses to the incident on Kingsland High Street said they initially thought it was fireworks, before hearing a motorbike screech off.
Police said the girl was eating inside the restaurant at the time and don’t believe she knew the other victims.
Chief Supt Conway, speaking on Thursday afternoon, said she was an “innocent victim of the indiscriminate nature of gun crime”.
He said armed officers were on patrol as part of an increased police presence to provide “reassurance and support”.
A stolen motorbike believed to have been used in the shooting was found about a quarter of a mile away in Colvestone Crescent.
Pic: PA
Officers were searching outside a church on Colvestone Crescent
Forensics officers have been carrying out a search outside a church there.
At Evin, the Turkish restaurant where the shooting happened, plates of food and half-drunk beers were still on tables on Thursday morning, said Sky correspondent Rachael Venables.
Chairs appeared to have been shoved aside in a panic and paramedics’ plastic gloves lay on the floor behind the police tape.
The Metropolitan Police said they had an open mind about the motive and want any witnesses – and anyone with video or pictures – to contact them.
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Girl ‘fighting for her life’ after shooting
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“Someone knows who was responsible. This was a shooting that’s left a little girl fighting for her life,” said Chief Supt Conway.
“If you have any information that could assist us with the investigation, please do the right thing and make contact with us.”
London Ambulance Service said a trauma team from the air ambulance was among multiple resources sent to the scene.
“We treated three adults and one child at the scene before taking them all to a major trauma centre,” a statement said.