Police investigating a shooting at an east London restaurant that left a nine-year-old girl fighting for her life have issued an update.
A gunman on a stolen motorbike opened fire on Kingsland High Street, Dalston, on Wednesday evening, spraying Evin Turkish restaurant with bullets while the child was eating dinner with her family.
Two men, aged 44 and 42, who were sitting outside the restaurant during the drive-by shooting, were also injured and rushed to hospital for treatment, with one facing potentially life-changing injuries. A third man, aged 37, has since been discharged from hospital.
No arrests have yet been made. Appealing for information from Turkish and Kurdish communities, the Metropolitan Police on Friday issued images and the registration plate of the bike used in the “reckless” attack, which was later found dumped at Colvestone Crescent.
Addressing the girl’s condition on Friday, Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway told reporters: “We remain in close contact with our colleagues in the NHS who have worked around the clock to provide urgent care to the victims, including the young girl, who I’m very sad to say remains in a critical condition.”
He said specialist family liaison officers continue to support the girl’s family.
Giving details of the motorbike used in the incident, Mr Conway said: “We know that the offender fired from a motorbike at approximately 9.20pm on Wednesday evening.
“The bike was a Ducati Monster with a white body, red chassis and red wheels.
“Our officers have now established that the motorbike was previously stolen in 2021 from a property in Wembley.
“At the time of the shooting, the bike was displaying the registration plate DP21 OXY.
“I want to hear from anyone who might recognise it – I’m particularly keen to hear from you if you saw it on the day of the incident.”
A shopworker said a waitress at the Turkish restaurant told her the girl’s family were dining al fresco when a motorbike let off five shots.
She told The Independent: “I heard gunshots – like five. It sounded like pow, pow, pow. I hit the panic button and the shutters came down and I locked everyone inside.
“The waitress told me the family were sitting down and eating when they were shot. There is an outside area. It could’ve been anyone hit.
“I walked past a bullet on the floor and the police told me not to step on it. I was very close. Someone came in, said a child was shot as well. I was on the phone to security and was just crying at the same time.
“It was so scary, you have to be worried when passers-by are hit. It could’ve been anyone. This area is always packed with families, especially in half-term.”
Mr Conway described the shooting as having “an element of pre-planning” and appealed to the Turkish and Kurdish communities in north and east London because the three men injured in the incident “have connections to those communities”.
He said: “This shocking attack will have had an element of pre-planning.
“This means there are people out there who know something which may be crucial to our investigation.
“Gun crime has no place on the streets of London and this reckless act has left a young child fighting for her life.
“We are specifically reaching out to our Turkish and Kurdish communities, particularly in north and east London, who I know are shocked and appalled by this crime.
“This is because the three men who were shot have connections to those communities.”
One crime scene remains in place in Kingsland High Street.
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
