A nine-year-old girl is fighting for her life after being the “innocent victim” of a shooting while having dinner in a restaurant with her family in Hackney, east London.
The child was injured when shots were fired from a motorbike outside, police said.
Three men, aged 26, 37 and 42, who were sitting outside the restaurant, were also injured and taken to hospital for treatment.
Their conditions are stable but one potentially faces life-changing injuries.
Police were called to the scene on Kingsland High Street at around 9.20pm on Wednesday, with specialist firearms officers attending.
Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway, of the Metropolitan Police, said: “We do not believe that the girl and the men injured were known to each other.
“As with any child, she was an innocent victim of the indiscriminate nature of gun crime.”
A motorbike believed to have been used in the shooting was recovered in nearby Colvestone Crescent, which police said was stolen.
The force said officers were “keeping an open mind” as to the motive.
Mr Conway added: “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.
“Events such as these are rarely spontaneous. Someone knows who is responsible for this shooting that has left a little girl fighting for her life.”
Two police cordons were still in place on Thursday afternoon on Kingsland High Street and Colvestone Crescent while forensic officers were seen on their hands and knees searching outside a church near where the motorbike was recovered.
A business owner said he was “stunned” after seeing a man on the floor following the shooting.
Ayo Adesina, 40, who owns Aso Rock Restaurant, which is located about 80 metres from the incident, noticed a large police presence on Kingsland High Street on Wednesday evening.
Mr Adesina said he was in the area supporting Labour veteran Diane Abbott and visited his restaurant before he heard a series of loud noises which he believes accounted for five or six gunshots.
“I heard gunshots though at the time I thought it was just a car,” he told the PA news agency.
“I looked at the road and I could see there was a whole crowd of people.
“I got on an e-bike and went up there and saw a man on the floor who wasn’t moving.”
Mr Adesina described the incident as “crazy”.
“It’s a high street where, especially in the summertime, people sit outside – whoever did this is very reckless,” he said.
“People are walking up and down that high street – I’ve been to that restaurant with my family.
“It’s a local place and very popular in the summer.
“The only saving grace is that it didn’t happen on a Friday or Saturday night because it’s even busier.
“It was crazy and everyone was stunned.”
The business owner, who lives in Romford, filmed the moment crowds gathered outside the restaurant and police cars lined the street.
“There were loads of police, probably at least 25 or 30 cars,” he said.
“There were loads of people out there. Maybe 200 people crowded around.”
Rodrique Evans, 49, a former housing manager who lives near the restaurant, said: “We saw stuff last night.
“You could hear the helicopter at about midnight.
“I thought I heard the gunshots, I thought it was a car until I saw the blue (police) lights flying past the window.
“We have had a few shootings, but there is a point where you get used to it.
“You become desensitised to it.
“I’ve seen about 16 shootings and stabbings in the area in the last couple of years.”
Anyone with information is asked to call 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
