A nine-year-old girl was shot in the head when a gunman on a motorbike opened fire during "a planned assassination" of rival gang members, a court has heard.
The girl was seriously injured when some of the bullets from the drive-by shooting missed their target as she was eating dinner with her family at the Evin restaurant in Kingsland High Street in Dalston, east London, on May 29 least year, the Old Bailey heard.
A bullet lodged in the girl's brain whilst three other men seated at a pavement table outside the busy restaurant were also hit on various parts of their bodies.
Javon Riley, 33, has pleaded not guilty to four charges of attempted murder and an alternative charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent against the girl.
It is alleged that he played "a key role before, during and after the shooting".
Riley, of Tottenham, north London, carried out reconnaissance of the restaurant, travelled past the scene several times to ensure the target or targets were present before the shooting and helped the gunman evade capture, it is alleged.
The gunman, who fired from a Ducati Monster motorbike, has never been tracked down.
Gang rivalry thought to be behind attack
Prosecutor James Mulholland KC told the court: "The prosecution case is that this was a planned assassination of members of a rival gang by Mr Riley and others."
He said the shooting appeared to be part of "an ongoing dispute" between two rival groups known as the Tottenham Turks and the Hackney Turks, also called the "Bombacilars".
The prosecutor said that these gangs "have had an intense rivalry for well over a decade which has involved the use of extreme violence towards one another".
Those seated outside the restaurant had affiliations with the Hackney Turks, whilst those who ordered the shooting were from the Tottenham Turks, prosecutors say.
The nine-year-old victim has endured several intensive operations at Great Ormond Street Hospital, with the first carried out the day after the shooting. Sections of her skull were removed to relieve brain swelling and have since been replaced with a titanium plate.
She spent three months in hospital before being allowed home.
Mr Mulholland said: "Although she has made a relatively good recovery, she will continue to have physical and cognitive difficulties throughout her life."
The three men hit in the attack - Mustafa Kiziltan, Kenan Aydogdu and Nasser Ali - were taken to Royal London Hospital where each underwent surgery for serious bullet wounds. They suffered injuries to the thigh, leg and backbone respectively. Each appears to have made "a reasonable recovery".
Jurors heard the motorbike rider "raised his right arm and fired six shots in quick succession," striking the men sitting outside but also the little girl.
After the shooting, the gunman allegedly rode to a nearby street where Riley was waiting in a stolen Nissan Juke on false plates.
Covert police recordings in the months after the shooting show Riley talking about a man called Izzet Eren, who is linked to the Tottenham Turks and was shot in Moldova on July 10 last year in what was believed to be a revenge attack.
He also spoke about a man called "Kem", whom the prosecution believe is Kemal Eren - one of those closely involved in the Tottenham Turks.
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
