Appeal by man blinded in shooting

BBC News, London (UK)
Thursday, October 25, 2007

Appeal by man blinded in shooting 

Last Updated: Thursday, 25 October 2007, 16:30 GMT 17:30 UK  

A man who was shot and blinded in what police believe was a case of mistaken 
identity has made a direct appeal for help in catching his attackers. 
Abdul Malik, 20, was shot in the head in a drive-by shooting in Plaistow, east 
London, on Easter Monday. 

He said his attacker took his sight "for no reason", adding: "I don't have eyes 
to look at him. I want him to look at me. They can see what they did." 

Police want to trace four men seen driving away from the scene. 

Mr Malik, who had hoped to become an air steward, was 19 years old when he 
received "horrific" injuries in the shooting on the evening of 9 April. 

Pump-action shotgun 

While running an errand for his mother he had stopped to talk to some friends 
in Harold Road when four youths approached in a red Vauxhall Vectra, 
registration T243 MPP. 

Police said the gunman, armed with a pump-action shotgun, opened fire from the 
rear right-hand window shooting Mr Malik in the head. 

  They took my girlfriend's face away from me forever 

Abdul Malik 

Mr Malik said: "When I woke up in the hospital, I thought I had been in a car 
crash or something. 

"I thought I couldn't see because of the bandages around my head. Until they 
told me I didn't realise I was blind. 

"They took my girlfriend's face away from me forever." 

Car recovered 

A photograph showing the extent of his injuries is to be handed out by police 
in the hope it will encourage witnesses to come forward. 

Mr Malik said: "People out there are talking. People out there know who did 
it." 

The suspects, described as being Asian and in their late teens to early 20s, 
drove off in the direction of Green Street. 

 
Mr Malik had hoped to become an air steward 

Det Ch Insp Paul Bourne, said: "Abdul was an entirely innocent party simply 
standing in the street talking to his friends when he was shot, in what I 
believe is a case of mistaken identity. 

"His injuries were dreadful and they very nearly ended his life." 

Detectives also want to trace a man caught on CCTV filling the red Vectra with 
petrol at a Tesco petrol station in Romford Road, Woodgrange Park, at about 
1710 BST - two hours before the shooting. 

The car has been recovered and the owner traced but police are still searching 
for Mr Malik's attackers. 

Two 17-year-old youths arrested over the shooting are due to return to a police 
station on bail next week. 

RELATED INTERNET LINKS 
Metropolitan Police 
http://www.met.police.uk/
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites 

 


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7062392.stm
BlindNews Mailing List
Subscribe: BlindNews-Request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" as subject

Unsubscribe: BlindNews-Request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe" as subject

Moderator: BlindNews-Moderators@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Archive: http://GeoffAndWen.com/blind

RSS: http://GeoffAndWen.com/BlindNewsRSS.asp

More information about RSS feeds will be published shortly.

Other related posts: