A drug dealer shot at two strangers crossing the road in a terrifying road rage incident outside a pub just yards from London Mayor Sadiq Khan's house. William Solhotra, 35, got into a row with two men who had just walked in front of his BMW as he drove slowly past a parked car outside a row of shops in Streatham, south London.
As the trio shouted at each other, the two men walked towards Solhotra's silver hatchback, until he drew a weapon and opened fire. After he fired one shot at the two men, the pair ran away from the scene back toward busy Mitcham Lane just before 3pm on July 2 last year.
CCTV from a corner shop opposite showed the moment Solhotra stopped outside The Furzedown pub, before a loud bang could be heard ringing out. In the footage, the two hooded men quickly turned around and fled just before the gunshot, as they appeared to see Solhotra had a gun.
An innocent passer-by could also be seen walking past his car as the shot was fired while other eyewitnesses saw the chaos unfold from the doorway of a nearby corner shop. London Mayor Sadiq Khan lives just yards from where the shooting took place, but was not at home that afternoon as he was at the London 2022 Pride parade in the city centre.
In the aftermath of the shooting, cops swarmed the area, but all three men had left. No one was reported injured and officers found a shell casing at the scene.
Armed cops stopped Solhotra four days later as he drove back to London from Crawley, West Sussex, with a loaded gun. Officers searched his vehicle and found the weapon inside the same Emporio Armani strap bag he was caught on CCTV wearing just minutes before the gun blast.
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Solhotra was jailed for 13 years and six months at Kingston Crown Court after being found guilty of two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and possession of ammunition. He pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply Class A, B and C drugs at an earlier hearing.
The two men who were shot at have not been tracked down, police said. Met Police Detective Constable David Leend said after the sentencing it was lucky nobody was killed.
DC Leend added: "This scene unfolded in broad daylight on a summer’s day in front of scores of onlookers and motorists. Solhotra got into a dispute with the two men in a suspected road rage incident.
“He was in possession of a lethal weapon and thought nothing of firing at the two men, with absolutely no regard for them, or the other people who were going about their business. Despite extensive searches, including multiple hospital checks, those two men have never been identified. It is sheer luck that no-one was injured, or worse; this could easily have been a very different investigation."
