Gunman ‘shot at family’s car with pistol in gang hit’ as girl, 8, injured – with parents & sibling, 2, caught in horror
A GUNMAN who “opened fire on a family’s car with a pistol” injured a girl, 8, with her parents and two-year-old sibling also caught up in the horror.
Cops arrested a man, 22, after the schoolgirl and her family were shot in their parked SUV during the “gang-style hit” in Ladbroke Grove, west London.
Scotland Yard said the girl’s injuries are not believed to be life-threatening and she is in surgery in a serious but stable condition.
But her dad is feared to have suffered potentially life-changing injuries following the horror.
The two victims were treated for serious gunshot wounds and raced to hospital after armed officers swooped in at 5.34pm on Sunday.
The girl’s 32-year-old mum and her two-year-old sibling were also in the car but were thankfully unharmed.
Horrified witnesses said the gunman was “purposely” firing directly at the driver during the alleged drive-by shooting.
Local Sharon, 44, said the horror incident “looked like a hit” and was “almost like a film”.
She told The Telegraph: “He was purposely shooting the driver in the driving seat.
“There were flashes coming out the front of the gun. There were three of four bangs.
“It was almost like a film. It didn’t look an accident. It looked like a hit.”
The mum said: “I was literally coming out of the exit to my mum’s block of flats and as I was going out I saw a guy shooting into the car multiple times.
“He was firing directly, like at close range, as if you’re standing next to open a door, they were shooting directly into it.
“I was completely in shock and I just ran back up the stairs because I was really scared.
“Then I looked and I heard screaming afterwards, and then people coming out to call the police.”
Sharon said it was too dark to clearly see the gunman, but the weapon appeared to be a pistol.
She said she heard a woman screaming in the aftermath and saw a child being carried into a nearby building.
It was almost like a film. It didn’t look an accident. It looked like a hit.”
Witness Sharon, 44
Another resident also said that a woman believed to be the child’s mother was heard shouting: “My baby, my baby’s been shot.”
The witness told Metro: “It makes me sick to think about it now.
“There were four or five shots, there was screaming it’s horrible. A neighbour went out with a duvet to cover the injured.”
Father of five Ali Hussien, 52, an Uber driver told Metro that he thought “four or five bangs” that sounded “like fireworks”.
The shooting happened in a part of west London that has witnessed a violent turf war between gangs from Ladbroke Grove and Harrow Road, according to residents in the area.
The gangs are separated by a narrow bridge that runs over the Grand Union Canal and frequent skirmishes are said to take place between rival members.
Speaking in Ladbroke Grove, Billy Jamu, 28, a resident, told The Telegraph: “There’s a group of youths who run around here that have a rivalry with Harrow Road. Everything that happens is gang related. It’s stupid really.”
Another man, who asked not to be named, said the gangs said: “What happens when you get two XL bullys that come down the road and they’re both aggressive? There’s a friction there. It’s a simple rivalry.”
‘SENSELESS VIOLENCE’
A 22-year-old man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder has now been bailed to a date in early February pending further enquiries.
Superintendent Owen Renowden said on Monday: “Yesterday afternoon we received numerous 999 calls reporting that shots had been fired.
“We heard that people in a vehicle had been injured and multiple units were dispatched to the scene, including armed officers.
“A 34-year-old man and eight-year-old girl were found with serious gunshot injuries.
“A two-year-old child and 32-year-old woman were also in the car but were thankfully uninjured.
“Both the man and the girl are in hospital in a serious but stable condition.
“The man has potentially life-changing injuries and the girl remains in surgery. Her injuries are not believed to be life threatening.”