Detectives from the Met Police are urgently hunting down a motorcyclist involved in a drive-by restaurant shooting that left a nine-year-old girl fighting for her life in hospital.
The innocent child was out ‘for ice cream’ at the Evin restaurant in Dalston, north east London, on May 29 when she became caught up in a shooting between two rival drug gangs.
Today police officers released further images of the suspected gunman driving a Duncati Monster motorbike on Kingsland High Street where he opened fire on three men sitting, believed to be his targets.
The trio with ties to the drugs gang ‘Bombacilar’ were all injured, with the young girl’s parents revealing that almost two months on she is still unable to speak or move properly after she was struck in the head by a bullet.
‘We are devastated about what has happened, our daughter remains stable but in a critical condition,’ her parents said.
The Met Police have released a series of photographs of the motorcyclist involved in the Dalston gang shooting on May 30 that left an innocent nine-year-old girl fighting for her life
Forensic officers pictured outside Evin restaurant, where a horror drive-by shooting took place on May 29
The Met are hoping the new pictures of the motorbike will help ‘identify the dangerous individuals responsible’, thought to be from the Tottenham Turks gang
‘She only went there for ice cream and now we do not know if we will ever get our daughter back to being the smart, funny girl that she was before and whether she will be able to ever speak or move properly again.
‘We need our child back and we are all praying for her full recovery, please respect our wishes for privacy for ourselves and the rest of the family at this difficult time.’
The London police force are now renewing calls for anyone with information about the shocking incident to step forward hoping the new images will help ‘identify the dangerous individuals responsible’, thought to be from the Tottenham Turks gang.
The motorcycle thought to be involved in the shooting has also been linked to areas within Peckham and Crystal Palace.
It was previously reported that a leading gangster in the Hackney Bombers gang – who once controlled 90 per cent of the UK’s heroin trade – was the intended target of the Dalston shooting.
Founder of the group Abdullah Baybasin had been spotted out in Barcelona weeks before the shooting with a German-Turk gangster Tekin Kartal, 30, who was shot dead shortly after leaving.
While Baybasin’s gang denied responsibility on social media, fears were sparked that the Dalston shooting could have been a revenge hit.
The motorcycle thought to be involved in the shooting has also been linked to areas within Peckham and Crystal Palace
Police forensic officers in Dalston, north east London, near to the scene of a shooting at Kingsland High Street, Hackney, on May 30
Police and forensics are pictured at the scene of the Dalston drive-by shooting on May 30
A source told The Sun: ‘It’s too early to say if the attack was directly linked to the Barcelona hit, but Kartal was an underworld figure with interests across Europe.
‘There is always a fallout, with people looking to exploit weakness in rival organisations. There’s no doubt police will be looking into the wider context.’
Baybasin, who uses a wheelchair after being shot by a rival, was released from prison in Turkey in 2017. He was initially arrested in the UK in 2006 but acquitted four years later.
Two months after returning to Turkey, he was arrested again, this time with his son over drug smuggling. He was released seven years ago.
Baybasin had taken over as the mob boss when his brother, Huseyin Baybasin – once known as Europe’s Pablo Escobar – was jailed for life in the Netherlands on drug smuggling charges himself.
The intended target, a man called Beytullah Gunduz, 37, in Dalston escaped unharmed, while the three men of Turkish origin – aged 37, 41, and 44 – were all injured.
The little girl, from Birmingham, had been visiting her family from London when the stray bullet hit her at around 9pm.
The shots fired in Hackeny were said to be aimed at members of the Hackney Bombacilar clan, who have been involved in a long running feud with their rivals, the Tottenham Turks for control of the UK’s heroin trade
The shooter has still not been tracked down by detectives. It is believed the shooting was part of a gang war
Emergency services on the scene in Dalston, east London, after the shooting
Gunduz, who has links to the criminal world in Turkey, had been at the restaurant but left for a 15 minute period. When he returned he found three of his friends shot and the innocent child lying on the restaurant floor.
Following the attack, Gunduz was said to be distraught that the schoolgirl had been injured, wishing he had been shot in the head instead.
According to The Times he told a friend’that little girl is an innocent person’. ‘If these people knew I was there why didn’t they wait until I left and walked around the corner?’
‘We can be criminals but this girl wasn’t, she didn’t do anything wrong. It is killing me inside. The waiting to know if she is going to live is too much – I am heartbroken.’
He went onto say he hasn’t slept in four days and has been praying for her.
The attack led to concerns that a gang war between Tottenham Turks and their rivals, the Hackney Turks, will reignite.
Gunduz was previously the victim of a hit when he was shot in the neck by a Tottenham Turks assassin and has himself been cleared of organising another hit.
A look at Evin restaurant on Kingsland High Street the next morning, covered in police tape
Izzet Eren (pictured), the boss of the Tottenham Turks gang, was shot seven times as he sat outside a cafe wearing shorts, sliders and a baseball cap last week. Detectives are probing if this was linked to the Dalston shooting
Founder of the group Abdullah Baybasin had been spotted out in Barcelona weeks before the shooting with a German-Turk gangster Tekin Kartal, 30, who was shot dead shortly after leaving
Last week, it was revealed the boss of the Tottenham Turks gang was shot seven times outside a cafe in Moldova, leaving him dead.
It’s understood that the 41-year-old was killed instantly after three bullets fired from a gunman riding by on an electric scooter struck him in the head. The attacker, wearing a helmet, then fled the scene.
Met Police officers are said to be investigating whether the gang leader’s death is linked to the shooting in Dalston on May 29, according to the Mirror.
Describing the Dalston shooting at the time, one resident said: ‘I don’t know who [they were] targeting – but for a child to be hit? It’s just horrendous.’
The man, who did not want to be named, added: ‘I doubt anyone will give you their names – not when this could be gang violence.’
A diner who was at the Evin restaurant at the time of the alleged shooting told the Hackney Gazette how everyone dived under the tables during the ‘chaos’ and he used his coat to stop the bleeding on someone’s leg.
‘There was a big group having dinner in the rear,’ he said. ‘I couldn’t get my usual table so got one close to the front window.
‘The big group paid up and left and shortly afterwards that’s when the loud bangs – which were obviously gunshots – happened.’
After everyone scrambled on to the floor, the man saw that someone was injured and he used his coat to stop the bleeding on a leg wound.
CCTV captures moment the hitman on a stolen motorbike targets three men in Dalston
Shocking CCTV footage shows the moment a hitman on a stolen motorbike targets three men outside a Turkish restaurant
He continued: ‘I’d say it was around 10 to 15 minutes when the emergency services arrived. Police first, then NHS staff. They were very efficient.’
A second resident, who also wished to remain anonymous, said: ‘It’s so awful. I live just down the road so it’s really shocking to hear.
‘I only found out when I walked up here this morning to get my hair cut. To hurt a kid? I mean it’s messed up.
‘It’s the way the world is going these days and I worry if things will continue to get worse.’
Dave Evans told how he had walked passed the Evin Bistro just minutes before the violence erupted.
Mr Evans, 62, said: ‘I was out last night walking my dog. I must have walked passed Evin five minutes before the shooting.
‘I was down the road when I heard the noise. There were six shots. I knew they were gun shots immediately.’
Speaking almost two months on from the shooting, Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway repeated his appeal for information.
He said: ‘Our investigation team has been working tirelessly to piece together what happened and to identify the dangerous individuals responsible for this shocking and indiscriminate act of violence.
‘They are now in a position to release images of a suspect on a motorcycle that they are working to trace. We believe the motorcycle has been in the Peckham and Crystal Palace areas.
‘Anyone who saw this motorcycle or who can help us identify the rider is urged to contact us immediately. Whoever this person is, they are dangerous and must be removed from our streets.’
The lead for policing in Hackney added that detectives are still probing links to a Turkish-originating organised crime network.
‘You might be a friend, partner or a family member of someone that you suspect may be involved,’ he added.
‘I urge you to search your heart to understand if your loyalty to friends or associates extends to covering up for an innocent child being shot.
‘It is very clear that this attack has had a devastating impact on the family. On their behalf we ask that their privacy is respected in such difficult circumstances.’
