Man guilty over role in shooting of girl, 9

A man has been found guilty over his role in a gangland shooting that left a nine-year-old girl with life-changing injuries.

Javon Riley, 33, was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to the girl who was hit in the head by one of six bullets fired by a man on a passing motorbike at the Evin Restaurant in Kingsland High Street in Hackney on 29 May 2024.

Riley was also found guilty of attempting to murder three men - Mustafa Kiziltan, 35, Kenan Aydogdu, 45, and Nasser Ali, 44 - who were sitting at tables outside the restaurant that night.

The girl was an innocent victim of a bitter tit-for-tat feud between rival Turkish gangs, the Old Bailey heard.

"In a single moment, the future we had imagined for our daughter was torn away," the girl's mother said.

"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."

She added: "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 gunman and the weapon have never been found.