A nine-year-old girl is in a critical condition after being the “innocent victim” of a shooting in Hackney, east London.
The child was inside a restaurant having dinner with her family when a firearm was discharged 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.
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Police were called to the scene on Kingsland High Street at around 9.20pm on Wednesday, with specialist firearms officers attending.
Det Chief Supt 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.”
Anyone with information is asked to call 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. – PA