A girl aged nine is “fighting for her life” after a shooting in which three adults were also injured in Hackney, east London.

The “innocent victim” was having dinner with her family in a restaurant in Kingsland High Street, Dalston, when shots came from outside at about 21:20 BST on Wednesday, Ch Supt James Conway of the Metropolitan Police said.

Three men, aged 26, 37 and 42, sitting outside the restaurant were also injured by gunshot, believed to have come from a stolen motorbike.

They and the girl, who are not believed to be known to each other, remain in hospital, with one of the men potentially suffering “life-changing” injuries.

Ch Supt James Conway said there were two crime scenes – one where the shooting had happened and another at Colvestone Crescent, where the motorbike was recovered.

He 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.”

He added: “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.”

Officers were “keeping an open mind” as to the motive, Ch Supt Conway said.

This morning there were half-finished drinks glasses still on the tables of the Evin restaurant, with broken glass and chairs strewn on the floor.

Ayo Adesina, 40, who owns the nearby Aso Rock Restaurant, said he felt “stunned” in the aftermath of the shooting.

“I heard gunshots though at the time I thought it was just a car.

“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 shooting 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.”

He added there had been “loads of police, probably at least 25 or 30 cars,” and “maybe 200 people crowded around”.

Another resident, Dave Evans, who heard gunshots while walking his dog, told the BBC it was “part of living in Hackney”.

“If I had arrived five minutes earlier, who knows what would have happened, it’s not good for the community.”

He added: "People were screaming in the café, there were a lot of people lying on the floor, clearly something very bad had happened.

“There are all kinds of different people that live here, but there is a lot of tension now. People are feeling it now.”

Ch Supt 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.” (BBC: Text, Excluding Headline)

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