A man has been found guilty of his role in a gangland shooting that left a nine-year-old girl with a bullet lodged in her brain.
Javon Riley, 33, helped the motorbike-riding gunman escape from the scene after he fired six times at the Evin Restaurant in Dalston, east London, on 29 May last year.
Prosecutors said the Tottenham Turks gang had ordered the planned assassination of members of the rival Hackney Turks, who were sitting at a table outside.
But the first bullet missed, hitting the child – who was inside eating ice cream with her family – in the head.
Police said it was a “miracle” she survived and were just “millimetres” away from launching a murder investigation.
The girl, who cannot be identified, spent more than three months in hospital, where she had her skull rebuilt with titanium, and has made a good recovery.
But she still has the bullet lodged in her brain and is expected to have physical and cognitive difficulties for the rest of her life.
Her mother said in a statement: “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.”
Footage caught on the helmet camera of an off-duty policeman shows the gunman, who was riding a powerful Ducati Monster motorbike, shoot six bullets in two seconds.
Read more: The Turkish gang war behind the shooting
The men targeted scrambled to get inside but Nasser Ali, 43, suffered a wound to his backbone, Kenan Aydogdu, 45, was shot in the leg and Mustafa Kiziltan, 35, was hit in the thigh.
Riley, from the Tottenham area, claimed he had been contacted by a “third party” and offered around £40,000 to be involved in a “smash and grab” robbery of 60 kilos of drugs.
He denied three charges of attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent to the girl, but was found guilty after a trial at the Old Bailey on Monday.
Prosecutors said he was not a member of the Tottenham Turks, but played “a key role” before, during and after the shooting.
The court heard he carried out surveillance in the weeks before, once sipping pina coladas at a bar across the road from the restaurant.
£15,000 reward
After the shooting, the gunman ditched his motorbike and was driven away by Riley, who disposed of the weapon and arranged for cars used in the plot to be set on fire.
Riley told the jury he had never met the gunman and refused to name the person who had hired him, telling jurors he feared for his and his family’s safety.
Police are offering a reward of up to £15,000 for information to help catch the gunman, who is believed to have links to south London, and those involved in orchestrating the shooting.
Follow our channel and never miss an update
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
“This isn’t a regular case, this is a completely innocent individual, a child, that’s been shot and if you can’t bring yourself to come forward with information… we need your help,” Detective Inspector Ben Dalloway told Sky News.
“You can see from the fact that the gunman here shot six rounds into a busy restaurant where diners were sat, minding their own business, they don’t care,” Metropolitan Police Detective Inspector Ben Dalloway told Sky News.
“As long as they send a message, as long as they seek to harm the opposition, they’ll stop at nothing.”
The judge, Mark Lucraft KC, said he will sentence Riley on 12 September when he faces a “lengthy” prison sentence.
