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 Hackney, east London, 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 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 21:00 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, 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, the court was told.

The gunman and the weapon have never been found although the motorbike used in the shooting – a Ducati Monster with a white body, red chassis and red wheels – was 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.”

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

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 will be sentenced on 12 September.