Four men have been jailed after being found guilty of a “truly horrific” drive-by shooting outside a London church that injured four women and two girls.
The attack on a memorial service at St Aloysius church near Euston station in January 2023, in which a sawn-off shotgun was used, was part of a feud between gangs, Kingston crown court was told.
A seven-year-old girl still has a shotgun pellet lodged near her heart after the attack, in which she received wounds to her lung, abdomen and groin.
Tyrell La Croix, 23, Alrico Nelson-Martin, 20, Jordan Walters, 24, and Jashy Perch, 20, were all convicted of conspiracy to wound with intent to cause serious bodily harm.
Sentencing the men to between 13 and 26 years, Judge Bryant-Heron said: “This was a carefully planned conspiracy, with the attack timed to have maximum impact and ensure maximum injury.”
In a victim’s statement read to the court, the mother of the injured seven-year-old said: “I honestly thought I was going to lose my daughter. She asked me: ‘Mummy, why is this happening to me?’ For a seven-year-old girl to say that, to feel she had done something wrong, is heartbreaking.”
Another victim spent four months in hospital and can no longer walk unaided. In her victim statement, she said: “I have lost my physical and mental freedom.”
She added: “A day that was meant to be about remembering my friends was turned upside down by the actions of these individuals. It was a beautiful service which ended in a callous, cruel, and vicious way.”
The gang’s leader, La Croix, who the court heard went out “celebrating” on the evening of the attack, was sentenced to 26 years, comprising 21 years in custody and five years on licence.
Perch, who was also convicted of possession of an offensive weapon, was sentenced to 20 years, consisting of 16 years in a young offender institution and four years on licence.
Nelson-Martin, who was also convicted of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, was sentenced to 14 years in a young offender institution. Walters was jailed for 13 years.
The judge said: “The truly horrific nature of this crime is that you were all prepared to shoot and maim innocent members of the public in order to continue a violent feud between two rival gangs. The effect of the shooting was catastrophic. You caused injury, panic and mayhem. It is the highest category of harm.”
Addressing La Croix, he added: “You went out celebrating what you thought was a successful show of strength against a rival gang. You had been stabbed a year prior by a member of a rival gang and you were set on revenge.”
DI Darren Jones, of the Metropolitan police’s specialist crime trident investigation team, said: “These dangerous men brought unimaginable fear and horror to the streets of London. They cowardly shot at mourners as they gathered outside a church. The innocent women and girls who were injured will have to deal with the impact of that for the rest of their lives.”