A nine-year-old girl who fought for her life after a shooting in Hackney was visiting her family on a half-term holiday before she was shot in the head by a motorbike hitman amid a gang dispute, it has been claimed. Turkish and Kurdish. .
The girl, who was caught up in the alleged gangland shootout while dining with her family in east London last Wednesday, is said to be “improving” and hugged her father’s friend yesterday, according to a close family friend.
The girl is said to have moved to the UK about two years ago with her parents, both IT workers, and the family is living together in Birmingham.
Members of his family attended a church service in his honor yesterday in the Kerala region of India, but the critical nature of his condition is not revealed to his grandmother, with whom he shares a close relationship.
The girl’s uncle told The Sun: “We told him it was a minor injury.” We even keep her away from the local television channels, which broadcast the news. She had an emotional connection with the girl and it was conveyed to her over the phone at least every other day.
It is understood the family who were visiting relatives during the half-term holidays had not planned to eat at the Evin restaurant in Kinglsand High Street, Dalston, and only did so because the boy suddenly felt hungry.
Police forensic officers at the scene of the shooting on Kingsland High Street, Hackney, east London.
Shocking CCTV footage shows the moment a hitman on a stolen motorcycle attacks three men outside a Turkish restaurant
The nine-year-old girl is fighting for her life. Forensic officers are pictured at the scene on Thursday.
The girl was shot in the Turkish restaurant shortly after nine p.m. The shooter on a Ducati Monster motorcycle stopped and began shooting at three men sitting outside, believed to have been his targets.
The men of Turkish origin, aged 37, 42 and 44, were injured and the girl was trapped under the hail of bullets, one of which lodged in her head.
The Sunday Times reports that nearby Turkish residents said most people were too scared to speak because the area was overrun by gangs.
Many claimed the shooting was part of a rivalry between a Turkish and a Kurdish gang, one from Hackney called the “Bombers” and another called the “Tottenham Turks”.
The restaurant’s owner, Gazi Degirmenci, told the newspaper that the girl had been “playing with her family,” adding: “She was very active, very happy.”
He continued: ‘(Other customers) were trying to stop the bleeding and calm them down. His parents were screaming and crying.”
Mr Degirmenci denied his business was targeted amid local speculation, stating: “This was something between two gangs.” The problem is not with our community or our business. The main problem is the two gang groups.’
One of the injured has been released from the hospital and the other two are being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Pictured: Forensic officers gather evidence at the scene in Dalston, east London.
The girl was shot at the Evin restaurant on Kingsland High Street shortly after 9pm on May 29.
Pictured: Emergency services at the scene in Dalston, east London.
Pictured: Police guard the cordon at the scene in Dalston, east London.
The girl has been on a ventilator since Wednesday. Doctors performed an operation but were unable to remove the bullet, the family friend said.
The girl has been on a ventilator since Wednesday. Doctors performed an operation but were unable to remove the bullet, the family friend said.
But, he added, on Friday the doctors began to reduce his sedation to see how he responded and yesterday his family was delighted when he squeezed his father’s hand.
The friend said: ‘She’s on a ventilator but she’s responding to some things, which is good. When they (her parents) say something, she responds, like wagging her finger.
“Her father talked to her this morning and she responded, she squeezed his hand, she squeezed it.” She said doctors will remove the bullet in another operation, but that could take a few days.
The friend, who speaks regularly on the phone with the girl’s father, said her parents were much more optimistic. She said: “The doctors say everything will be fine.”
The motorcycle, with red wheels and registration number DP21 OXY, was stolen three years ago from a property in Wembley, north London.
Police have asked London’s Turkish and Kurdish communities for information about the attack.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We are keeping an open mind about any motive.”