Shocking video footage has shown the moments after a horror shooting in Hackney, London this week which left a nine-year-old girl fighting for her life and three men injured.Â
The footage reveals the chaos at Evin restaurant after a shooter pulled up on a motorbike and let off a round of bullets as families ate dinner at the popular Turkish restaurant.
Members of the public can be seen tending to one of the victims on the ground, while others speak on the phone or ask where the emergency services are.Â
Emotional cries can be heard in the background as one victim is seen lying on the floor.
The five-second rampage left the girl fighting for her life while three men, aged 26, 37, and 42, sitting at the table in front of her were also hit in the incident, which unfolded at around 9.20pm.Â
Footage recorded in the minutes after the shooting showed people gathered around a victim on the ground
CCTV obtained by MailOnline shows the shooter slowly approaching Evin’s on Kingsland High Street before coming to a stop outside
Police said the girl suffered a gunshot wound and remains in hospital in a critical condition. The three men, who are not believed to have known the child, are in stable condition, but one potentially faces life changing injuries.
In a heart-wrenching account of the brutal shooting the owner of the Evin bistro revealed how the girl’s mother crumpled in shock when she saw her daughter shot.
Gazi Degirmenci told MailOnline: ‘The girl was not with the three men outside, she was sitting at a table behind them.
‘The girl was with her family, her mum and dad and two other children. She was part of a five or six person group.
‘The mother was in a really bad way, as you can imagine, really bad, really bad.
‘We tried to help as much as we could, we tried to stop the bleeding. We gave her water, and we called the ambulance and police.
‘I’m not sure that if our efforts helped. But we helped as much as we could.
‘The mum was in a really bad state. I don’t want to try to remember how she was, it’s too upsetting. Can you imagine being in her shoes? It’s an unimaginable horror.
Several men attempted to help one of the male victims before paramedics arrived
Others gathered outside the restaurant called emergency services or asked where ambulances were
A look at where the shooting occurred in Dalston last night as a motorcyclist fired shots towards the dinersÂ
‘It’s so painful, we are so upset about what happened to that child.
‘I’m not sure about who the three men sitting in the front are, and if it’s some sort of gang war. But the biggest tragedy is clearly the child.’
The crime bears the hallmarks of a shooting in 2003 which tragically killed two innocent young women in Birmingham.
The mother of 17-year-old Letisha Shakespeare, Dr Marcia Shakespeare, who campaigns on gun violence, told the Today programme: ‘As soon as I heard the news I was very saddened to hear that there was a shooting in Hackney and that there were three males involved as well as a nine-year-old girl who was also shot.Â
‘It just brought back the memories of when Letisha was shot.
‘It’s very important because a lot of crime, particularly firearms, are fuelled by serious violence, drug debts and feuds, but what’s going on around us in the underworld many innocent people are getting caught up.
‘It’s very disturbing that 21 years later we are still battling drive-by shootings.’
She added: ‘Do not take violent crime off the agenda because it’s too often that charities who try to obtain funding to try and tackle and diffuse violent crime, they are stopped because something else comes in.
‘It’s put on the back burner… but it hasn’t gone away.’
At a press conference yesterday, Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway pleaded for people to come forward with information. He began his statement by saying ‘it saddens me deeply’ to say that ‘three men and a nine-year-old girl were shot when a firearm was discharged from a motorbike’.
He added: ‘I know that local people will be extremely concerned by this incident. We share that concern and an urgent investigation has been launched to identify and apprehend those responsible.’
Detective Conway said: ‘As with any child, she was an innocent victim of the indiscriminate nature of gun crime.
‘Our thoughts are with her and her family and they are being supported by specialist officers.’
Forensic officers pictured outside Evin restaurant, where a horror drive-by shooting took place
Forensic officers pictured outside Evin restaurant, where a horror drive-by shooting took place
Three adults and a child were found with gunshot injuries at the scene. They have all been taken to a major trauma centre
An eye-witness filmed the large group of people who were gathered outside Evin restaurant
Previously, horrifying footage had shown the moment the shooter pulled up outside the restaurant on a motorbike before letting off five or six shots.
Eyewitnesses told how diners dived under tables in a bid to escape the bullets, but said the little girl who was hit had been playing on chairs behind the intended targets at the time.Â
Detective Conway said: ‘The investigation is at an early stage and we are keeping an open mind as to the motive. We are keen to identify other witnesses who were in the area around the scene at the time of the shooting.
‘Similarly, if you were in the Kingsland High Street area at the time of the shooting and have information or footage from a phone or other device, please share that with us.
‘This is a fast-moving, complex investigation, and we will be working closely with our Specialist Crime colleagues to establish the full facts in the coming days.
‘Locally, people can expect to see a significant police presence in this area, including armed officers, to provide reassurance and support. We will also continue our unrelenting focus on suppressing violence, gun crime, and the offenders who endanger our communities.
‘Events such as these are rarely spontaneous. Someone knows who is responsible for this shooting that has left a little girl fighting for her life.’
