Video exhibits second hitman opens hearth on Turkish restaurant in Dalston
- A motorcyclist opened fire outside of Evin Turkish bistro in Dalston last night
- Three adults and one child were taken hospital with gun shot wounds
New video footage has revealed the moment a hitman on a stolen motorbike opened fire on a Turkish restaurant in Dalston.
The CCTV obtained by MailOnline shows the shooter slowly approaching Evin’s on Kingsland High Street before coming to a stop outside.
He then whips out a loaded weapon and fires six times in the direction of the diners, as a nearby cyclists turns his head in utter disbelief at what he is seeing.
The motorcyclist then speeds away, leaving three Turkish men, who are alleged to be the target of the attack injured and a nine-year-old girl caught in the crossfire fighting for her life.
The youngster had been happily eating dinner with her family at the Evin Turkish bistro in Dalston when the assassin targeted the three men, aged 26, 37, and 42, sitting at the table in front of her at around 9.20pm.
This comes as the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan took to X to offer his condolences to the victims of this ‘senseless and indiscriminate’ shooting.
He said: ‘This appalling violence has no place on our streets and I have been in close contact with Met Police leaders since last night about the steps they are urgently taking to bring those responsible to justice and to reassure the local community.’
The CCTV obtained by MailOnline shows the shooter slowly approaching Evin’s on Kingsland High Street before coming to a stop outside
The motorbiker can be seen at the top of the CCTV still as he begins to open fire on the street. Image credit: The Sun
A look at Evin restaurant on Kingsland High Street this morning which is covered in police tape
Police said the girl suffered a gunshot wound and remains in hospital in a critical condition. The three men, who are not believed to have known the child, are in stable condition, but one potentially faces life changing injuries.
In a heart-wrenching account of the brutal shooting the owner of the Evin bistro revealed how the girl’s mother crumpled in shock when she saw her daughter shot.
Gazi Degirmenci told MailOnline: ‘The girl was not with the three men outside, she was sitting at a table behind them.
‘I think at the moment the shots were fired she might have been jumping on the chairs. I’m not sure if there was a celebration but they were having dinner as a family.
‘The child was very lively and really cute. Before it happened she was very happy.
‘The girl was with her family, her mum and dad and two other children. She was part of a five or six person group.
‘The mother was in a really bad way, as you can imagine, really bad, really bad.
‘We tried to help as much as we could, we tried to stop the bleeding. We gave her water, and we called the ambulance and police.
‘I’m not sure that if our efforts helped. But we helped as much as we could.
‘The mum was in a really bad state. I don’t want to try to remember how she was, it’s too upsetting. Can you imagine being in her shoes? It’s an unimaginable horror.
‘It’s so painful, we are so upset about what happened to that child.
‘I’m not sure about who the three men sitting in the front are, and if it’s some sort of gang war. But the biggest tragedy is clearly the child.’
A cordon remains in place along Kingsland High Street as Evin restaurant (pictured) is taped off
Empty beer bottles and glasses of alcohol can be seen left behind on an outdoor table after the shooting
Eye-witnesses said diners dived under their tables at Evin restaurant as a motorcyclist fired shots at them
A look at where the shooting occurred in Dalston last night as a motorcyclist fired shots towards the diners
He added: ‘The father was trying to calm everyone down. If I had been in that situation I would not have been able to remain so calm.
‘There was another child that was very scared. He was trying to be composed to help the mother and the children.’
Speaking in his native Turkish, Mr Degirmenci told how the shooting lasted only seconds and he only realised the full extent of the horror after he watched the restaurant CCTV footage of the terrifying incident.
He said: ‘I was in the restaurant when it happened.
‘A group of men were sitting outside at the front of the restaurant and it appears that they were targeted by two people on a motorbike.
‘I don’t know who the men are, they might have been Turkish, I thought they were speaking in Turkish.
‘It was over pretty quickly, five or ten seconds, one minute at the most.
‘Imagine hearing the gun shots and then everyone threw themselves on the floor and tried to protect themselves.
‘There was loads of shouting and then we realised that one of the bullets had hit a child inside.
‘When it was happening, we didn’t not know what was going on, we just heard the gun shots.
‘We didn’t really see anything. But later when we looked at the CCTV we saw two people arriving by motor bike.
‘They get close and then shot at these people. And then they flee.’
Police guard the cordon at the scene in east London this morning. A child remains in serious condition after the shooting
He went on: ‘I’ve given the CCTV to the police. The CCTV shows inside the restaurant and outside. It shows everything that happened.
‘We are not allowed back in the restaurant. They didn’t even let us clear the tables, all the plates and stuff are still on the tables.
‘At the time it was impossible for us to know how many shots had been fired. But after looking at the CCTV it appears that five shots were fired.
‘Four people were injured and one bullet didn’t hit anyone.
‘The ambulance and the police arrived really quickly, within five or ten minutes.
‘I feel terrible. It has been a huge shock.’
It was also revealed that a stolen motorbike, believed to have been used during the shooting, has been recovered by police.
Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway pleaded for people to come forward with information. He began his statement by saying ‘it saddens me deeply’ to say that ‘three men and a nine-year-old girl were shot when a firearm was discharged from a motorbike’.
He added: ‘I know that local people will be extremely concerned by this incident. We share that concern and an urgent investigation has been launched to identify and apprehend those responsible.’
Detective Conway said: ‘As with any child, she was an innocent victim of the indiscriminate nature of gun crime.
‘Our thoughts are with her and her family and they are being supported by specialist officers.’
After police arrived at the scene within minutes of the crime, two crime scenes remain in place ‘at Kingsland High Street and at Colverstone Crescent, where we recovered a motorbike that we believe was used in the shooting and which we now know to have been stolen’.
Forensic officers pictured outside Evin restaurant, where a horror drive-by shooting took place
Police guard the cordon at the scene in east London this morning. A child remains in serious condition after the shooting
Specialist Crime colleagues are now working with the police to conduct fast-time enquiries to ‘identify and apprehend those responsible and to establish the motive behind the shooting’.
Horrifying CCTV footage obtained by The Sun shows the moment the gunman fires bullets at the diners before speeding away down the road.
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.
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.’
Earlier today, it was revealed that the child and two of the adults who were among the four shot ‘were from the same family’.
Describing the shooting, one resident said: ‘I don’t know who [they were] targeting – but for a child to be hit? It’s just horrendous. I also heard that two of the adults hurt are the child’s parents, but I’m unsure.’
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 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.
Police pictured on Kingsland High Street in Dalston, Hackney, where there was a drive-by shooting yesterday evening
‘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.
‘I walked back up there before the police got there. It was horrendous. There were bodies on the floor. Blood. It was awful.’
Cafe workers told how the Evin Bistro is owned and run by a Turkish family and is popular with local residents.
A waitress, who asked not to be named, said: ‘I know the family at Evin. They are nice people. What happened there is terrible! Shocking! I heard that oriole got shot and a baby! Who can shoot a baby?
Other residents claimed the shooting could be linked to a dispute between rival drug gangs.
One said: ‘It’s got to be a drugs hit.’
An eye-witness filmed the large group of people who were gathered outside Evin restaurant
Three adults and a child were found with gunshot injuries at the scene. They have all been taken to a major trauma centre
Today half eaten food and drinks remained on tables at the Evin Bistro. A half drunk glass of beer, abandoned coffee cups and a plate of mixed starters could be seen behind the police cordon.
Blood splatter in the floor could be seen amongst the upturned tables and chairs at the popular Turkish cafe.
A paramedics green first aid bag and discarded medical gloves were also abandoned at the scene.
Local John Thompson, 57, who has lived in Dalston all his life, claimed parts of the area used to be off-limits due to crime – but it has improved in recent years.
‘Sandringham Road – in the cordon – used to be a massive no-go zone,’ he said. ‘Murders, shootings, stabbings – everything. But I do feel like things have gotten better in the past years, so I’m quite surprised to see this.
‘But let’s be honest – it’s Dalston. There are still bad pockets. Like, if you have something expensive on you, just don’t come in the area. I had my bike stolen in the middle of the day – in front of everyone. But this? This is just awful. Horrific.’
Another person Antonia, who did not want to share her last name, was in Nandos at the time and said she heard five or six gunshots and saw a motorcyclist speeding away.
She said: ‘At first everyone didn’t think it was [a shooting], it sounded like a car not working, but we were in Nando’s and we just saw people running past.
‘Everyone stepped out to look and we could see loads of people surrounding that shop.
Eye-witnesses say it was a motorcycle that drove by and sprayed bullets in the direction of the diners, before speeding away down the road
One eye-witness, who was at the Evin restaurant at the time of the alleged shooting, told the hackney Gazette it was ‘busier than usual’ before the incident occurred
‘The police took ages to come and prior to that we saw the motorcyclist. He went around Nando’s on that road. We kind of just wanted to get out of there.’
Another eye-witness who was on Kingsland High Street after the shooting posted a video to social media, saying: ‘Someone just got shot five times in Hackney, Dalston.’
Police sirens can be heard in the background as a large group of people stand outside Evin restaurant.
Martha, a nearby resident on the high street told MyLondon that she heard four shots: ‘We heard the shooting and we saw people coming gathering there and we saw ambulances and police cars but nothing else.’
‘You don’t really realise or think that it’s gun shooting. We heard noise – it could be a car, it could be anything. We were worried but not straight away. Then we saw people shouting and the ambulance so then we started to realise. It came out of nowhere.’
Miklos, a nearby resident of 20 years: ‘Its shut down like this maybe once every two months’
When asked if he thought it was gang violence: ‘Well that’s what came to mind right away. If it’s not then it’s even worse’
Do you feel safe living here? ‘No not so much anymore because I’ve got a child as well, I just dropped her in nursery.’
A nearby cafe worker said: ‘The shooting came from someone on an electric bike. it was automatic shooting, multiple shots. And innocent people got hit. One of them was targeted, there were three adults and a child’
Local shopkeeper on Kingsland High Street Tahir Sandh told MyLondon at these scene: ‘How can it be possible? We are in London and somebody comes and shoots people. It gives me a very unsafe feeling.’
Officers were called at around 9.20pm last night to reports of a shooting near a restaurant on Kingsland High Street
Emergency services attended the scene where three adults and a child were found with gunshot injuries
Earlier this morning, forensic officers were pictured outside the Turkish restaurant gathering evidence as a police cordon remains in place on Kingsland High Street.
Yesterday night officers, including specialist firearms officers, and London Ambulance Service rushed to the scene.
The three adults and child were all taken to a major trauma centre at an east London hospital after the attack. No arrests have been made yet and the shooter is still at large.
Detective Conway said today in his statement: ‘The investigation is at an early stage and we are keeping an open mind as to the motive.
‘We are keen to identify other witnesses who were in the area around the scene at the time of the shooting.
‘Similarly, if you were in the Kingsland High Street area at the time of the shooting and have information or footage from a phone or other device, please share that with us.
‘This is a fast-moving, complex investigation, and we will be working closely with our Specialist Crime colleagues to establish the full facts in the coming days.
‘Locally, people can expect to see a significant police presence in this area, including armed officers, to provide reassurance and support. We will also continue our unrelenting focus on suppressing violence, gun crime, and the offenders who endanger our communities.
‘If you have any information that could assist our investigation please do the right thing and tell us what you know by calling 101 or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org.’
Anyone with information that can help police should call 101 or post @MetCC reference CAD 8082/29May. To remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
