Man guilty over role in shooting of nine-year-old girl in Dalston

A man has been found guilty over his role in a gangland shooting that left a nine-year-old girl with a bullet lodged in her brain.

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

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 gunman and weapon used in the shooting in east London have never been found.

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.”

The shooting took place at about 21:20 BST on 29 May last year while the girl was eating ice cream alongside her family.

The three seriously injured men were said to be affiliated with the Hackney Turks organised crime gang, who had a rivalry with the Tottenham Turks, with whom Riley had links, the court heard.

Riley, of Tottenham in north London, played “a key role before, during and after the shooting”.

He carried out a reconnaissance, going past the scene several times to ensure the target or targets were present before the shooting and he helped the gunman evade capture in a car which was later burnt out, the court was told.

The motorbike used in the shooting – a Ducati Monster with a white body, red chassis and red wheels – was also later found.

The girl’s mother 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 world we once believed was safe for our child now feels frightening and uncertain.”

By coincidence an off-duty police officer, who was riding a pedal bike in the same direction, caught the gunman on a camera attached to his bike as he stopped just a metre away away from the restaurant and reached for his gun.

CCTV from inside the restaurant showed it was the first shot that struck the nine-year-old girl on the right side of her head and she fell to the floor.

Immediately after the shooting, Riley “ensured the disappearance of the gunman and the firearm”, the court was told.

The Met Police has offered a £15,000 reward “for information that leads to the identification, arrest of and prosecution the man who fired the weapon”.

Giving evidence in his defence, Riley admitted being involved in drugs-dealing and robberies, but said he believed he was involved in a plan to snatch drugs and cash from outside the restaurant.

Riley refused to tell the court the identity of the man who recruited him – or to provide any information about the shooter apart from saying he was “mixed race”.

Det Insp Ben Dalloway, who led the investigation, said: “Javon Riley’s actions traumatically altered the trajectory of a little girl’s life.

“While this outcome serves as a slither of justice, the dangerous individual responsible for pulling the trigger remains on our streets.”

Riley is due to be sentenced on 12 September.