What should have been a simple family dinner at a Turkish restaurant in East London turned into a nightmare that changed one young girl’s life forever.
A nine-year-old child, full of energy and dreams, was struck in the head by a bullet during a drive-by shooting that left her fighting for her life.
While she survived, her recovery has been marked by painful challenges — a titanium plate in her skull, weakness on one side of her body, and a bullet that still remains lodged in her brain.
Her mother described the devastating reality in a heart-wrenching statement, explaining that their daughter, once adventurous and full of life, is now forced to watch others play while she sits on the sidelines.
The family, shattered in every possible way, continues to live with scars — both visible and invisible.
The Night of the Shooting
The terrifying incident happened on May 29 last year outside Evin restaurant in Dalston.
The child was eating with her family when a gunman on a Ducati motorbike opened fire, spraying six bullets into the crowd.
Three men sitting nearby were also wounded — shot in the leg, thigh, and even the backbone.
Investigators later revealed that the attack was part of a brutal feud between two rival Turkish gangs, the Tottenham Turks and the Hackney Turks, also known as the “Bombacilars.”
The shooting was allegedly a planned assassination, with those targeted believed to have links to one side of the gang rivalry.
Who Is Javon Riley?
At the center of this case is 33-year-old Javon Riley from Tottenham, a man with a long history of crime.
Riley admitted to being no stranger to the criminal world — from car theft and drug dealing to robberies that sometimes earned him over £200,000.
He openly confessed that he would target drug dealers, believing they would not report robberies to police.
Despite this history, Riley claimed he had no idea he was connected to a gang shooting.
He admitted that on the night of the incident, he picked up the gunman in a stolen car but insisted he thought he was helping in what he believed to be a “smash and grab” robbery involving drugs.
He said he had been promised £40,000 to act as the driver.
The Guilty Verdict
After a three-week trial at the Old Bailey, Riley was found guilty of attempted murder.
He was also convicted of causing serious harm to the young girl, although he denied ever intending to hurt her or the other victims.
His sentencing has been scheduled for September 12.
The court also heard of Riley’s long criminal record, stretching back to 2008, which included drug offenses, weapon possession, and dangerous driving.
Despite presenting himself as a businessman involved in delivery services and clothing, his life was deeply tied to high-stakes robberies and organized crime.
Police and Community Response
Detective Inspector Ben Dalloway, who led the investigation, said Riley’s actions had “traumatically altered the trajectory of a little girl’s life.”
He emphasized that while Riley’s conviction provides some justice, the gunman who pulled the trigger — as well as the gang leaders who ordered the attack — remain at large.
Detective Superintendent Brittany Clarke added that the impact of such violence reaches far beyond the victims’ families, deeply affecting communities across North London.
She urged anyone with information to come forward, stressing that silence only protects dangerous criminal networks.
A Lasting Shadow
For the girl and her family, life will never return to what it was before that horrific night.
Their statement captures the unimaginable pain of watching their daughter face daily struggles with mobility, growth, and emotional trauma.
They now live in a world that feels uncertain and unsafe, knowing their child was caught in the crossfire of a violent feud she had nothing to do with.
This case serves as a grim reminder of how gang violence spills over into innocent lives, leaving scars that time may never heal.
