A nurse who attended a memorial service for a young woman who died from leukaemia has described how "panic" erupted after a gun attack outside the church. Four women and two children were injured in the shooting on Saturday afternoon (January 14) - with one, a seven-year-old girl, fighting for her life in hospital.
Jo Ifghallal was attending the service for her son's girlfriend Sara Sanchez when she said the occupants of a black car opened fire. Other witnesses said the attack sent mourners running and screaming outside St Aloysius Roman Catholic Church in Euston, London.
Jo told MyLondon: "We were all coming out of the church, dressed in white, about to release some doves. And the shooting happened as we were waiting for that.
"I didn’t see the car coming, but there was a big detonation. I just remember a woman falling on the floor and panic as people came out of the church."
She added: "My son saw the car coming through. It was a black car. I didn’t see the car. I remember screaming, panicking and rushing inside the church. People just holding children in their arms and trying to escape.
"At first we just heard a boom, we didn’t realise it was shooting. I saw a woman falling on the floor and wanted to go and help because I’m a nurse but son pulled me back."
The attack came as mourners had been celebrating the lives of Sara and also her mother Fresia Calderon, 50, who died less than a month earlier.
Jo continued: "It was supposed to be the funeral of two beautiful women, Sara was 20 years old. She died of leukaemia and a broken heart after her mum died just a few weeks before. Today was a celebration for them. Just to remember how beautiful and lovely these women were. These people in the car; I don’t know who they were, no clue. It was mayhem.
"There was a lovely police officer who was part of the funeral, she called the ambulance and police straight away. The ambulance came in less than five minutes. I just expected a nice funeral, you never expect this, I'm still in denial. It was already very traumatic how they died and on top of that now there’s this shooting."
One resident of an estate across the road from the church, who did not want to give her name, told the PA news agency: “I heard the gunshots. I was having a quiet day on my balcony and I heard this almighty bang and I thought this was not normal, and the next minute everyone was screaming and shouting.
“We have a food bank there and everyone was running off. Neighbours came in and said there has been a shooting. What a terrible thing."
Police had initially described the service at the church as a funeral, but Father Jeremy Trood, who conducted the service, said it was a Requiem Mass for the mother and daughter.
Father Trood said: “I was inside the church. I heard the bang and people ran back into the church. They knew something had happened outside.
“They were very scared, people sheltered in the church until the police said they can leave but some of them were so scared they had to wait a while to get their confidence back up to go outside."
Police say two children among those injured
London's Metropolitan Police said women – aged 48, 54 and 41 – were taken to a central London hospital where their injuries were assessed as non-life threatening. The 48-year-old has potentially life-changing injuries.
A 21-year-old woman was also taken to a central London hospital and officers are awaiting an update on her condition. At just after 2pm police were informed that a seven-year-old girl had been taken to a central London hospital with injuries sustained in the same incident. She remains in hospital in a life-threatening condition.
A second child, a 12-year-old girl, was taken to hospital with a minor leg injury also sustained in the incident but has since been discharged.
'Dreadful attack'
Superintendent Ed Wells said: “Any shooting incident is unacceptable, but for multiple people, including two children, to be injured in a shooting in the middle of a Saturday afternoon is shocking. Our thoughts are with all the victims, but in particular with the seven-year-old girl who is in a life-threatening condition and with her family.
“An investigation into this dreadful attack is already well underway involving local officers and specialist detectives. I can assure the communities of Camden and beyond that we will do everything we possibly can to identify and bring to justice those who were responsible."
