Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Hackney shooting: Intended target wishes girl was spared

Beytullah Gunduz, who has links with the Turkish underworld, was with friends outside a restaurant in Dalston but left 15 minutes before the shootout

Hackney shooting: Intended target wishes girl was spared

THE INTENDED target for the gangland shooting in Hackeny, which left a schoolgirl fighting for her life, wishes the bullet had hit him rather than the innocent child, The Times reports.

Beytullah Gunduz (37), who has been linked to the Turkish underworld, was with friends outside a restaurant in Dalston until 15 minutes before the assailant opened fire on diners last Wednesday (29).


He returned to the restaurant to find three of his friends with gunshot wounds. The girl, who was with her family, was shot in the head.

Eyewitnesses saw a gunman on a motorcycle, which police believe was stolen, speeding away after the incident.

Gunduz, a resident of Finsbury Park, reportedly told a friend that the attack on an innocent girl was troubling him.

He claims he has not been able to sleep for four days and is praying for her life. He wishes he was outside the restaurant and the bullet had gone through his head.

Gunduz had earlier survived another gangland hit in August 2020. He was shot in the neck by a bike-borne gunman near Clissold Park in Stoke Newington.

The latest attack has led to concerns that the shooting will reignite a bloody gang war between Tottenham Turks and Hackney Turks.

The gangs are linked to a battle for control over drugs, racketeering operations and political funding in Turkey.

The injured girl hails from Kerala state in India. She had moved to the UK along with her parents, both IT professionals.

The family lives in Birmingham and was on a trip to London. The shootout happened when they were having dinner at Evin, a Turkish restaurant.

Girl stable

The girl's family friend told MailOnline that the doctors had performed an operation but were unable to remove the bullet.

However, they have started reducing her sedation and found that she was able to respond to her parents and squeezed her dad's hand.

She continues to be on a ventilator and the doctors plan to remove the bullet in another operation that might be done a few days later.

Her grandmother in India told local media that her son is heartbroken and breaks down whenever he calls her.

She said the doctors were waiting for the swelling in the girl's head to subside before making another attempt to remove the bullet.

One of the three men who got injured during the shootout has been discharged. The other two continue to be in hospital.

Police widen probe

Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway said the police have reached out to Turkish and Kurdish communities in north and east London for any information regarding the assailant.

He pointed out that the three men who were attacked have connections with these communities.

The offender fired from a motorbike at approximately 9.20 pm, he told reporters.

The police had earlier released details of the motorbike used in the shooting, and appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

The police claim that the bike, a Ducati Monster, was stolen in 2021 from a property in Wembley.

More For You

Sunita-Williams-Reuters

Sunita Williams was part of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission and had been stranded in space for over nine months. (Photo: Reuters)

Reuters)

India looks amazing from space, says Sunita Williams

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams described India as "amazing" from space and expressed her intention to visit her "father's home country" to share her experiences on space exploration.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, she responded to a question about how India appeared from space and the possibility of collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Keep ReadingShow less
british-muslims-iStock

The study noted that this identification was not due to any doctrinal obligation but was influenced by the perception that many Muslims do not feel fully accepted as British. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Majority of British Muslims identify by faith first, study finds

A STUDY by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) has found that most British Muslims identify primarily with their religion rather than their nationality.

The research, based on a survey of 815 British Muslim adults by Whitestone Insight, revealed that 71 per cent of respondents identified as Muslim first, while 27 per cent identified as British, English, or Scottish first.

Keep ReadingShow less
Car Tax Changes: EV Owners Now Required to Pay for the First Time

Owners of electric vehicles registered on or after 1 April 2025 will pay £10 for the first year, followed by the standard VED rate of £195 from the second year. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Car tax changes take effect: EV owners to pay for first time

FROM today, 1 April 2025, electric cars, vans, and motorcycles in the UK will be subject to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for the first time.

The change, introduced in the 2022 Autumn Statement by former Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, aims to make motoring taxation fairer.

Keep ReadingShow less
scotland-minimum-wages-iStock

Full-time workers on the National Living Wage will receive an annual pay increase of £1,400 in real terms. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Wage increase takes effect for thousands of workers in Scotland

HUNDREDS of thousands of workers in Scotland will see a pay increase as new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates take effect from Tuesday.

The changes will benefit approximately 220,000 people, according to STV News.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk-energy-bill-iStock

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

April bill increases put financial strain on single parents

A RANGE of essential household bills are increasing from April, with Citizens Advice warning that single parents will be among the hardest hit.

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased, BBC reported.

Keep ReadingShow less