Man forced to pay shooting victim, age 9, in first-of-its-kind compensation

A man who was found guilty of his role in a gangland shooting that left a nine-year-old girl with a bullet lodged in her brain has been ordered to pay her compensation. 

Javon Riley, 33, helped the motorbike-riding gunman escape from the scene after he fired six times at the Evin Restaurant in Dalston, east London, on 29 May in 2024.

Prosecutors in the trial last year said the Tottenham Turks gang had ordered the planned assassination of members of the rival Hackney Turks, who were sitting at a table outside.

But the first bullet missed, hitting the child - who was inside eating ice cream with her family - in the head.

The girl, who cannot be identified, spent more than three months in hospital, where she had her skull rebuilt with titanium, and has made a good recovery.

Riley was jailed for a minimum of 34 years on 12 September 2025 after being convicted of three counts of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm.

He was ordered to pay £9,115 in compensation to the nine-year-old girl, who was left with life-changing injuries, following a confiscation hearing at the Old Bailey last Monday.

Police said it was a "miracle" the girl survived.

Metropolitan Police officers were able to prove the money had been generated through Riley's involvement in serious and organised crime.

Footage from the day of the shooting - caught on the helmet camera of an off-duty policeman - shows the gunman shoot six bullets in two seconds.

The men targeted scrambled to get inside, but Nasser Ali, 44, suffered a wound to his backbone, Kenan Aydogdu, 45, was shot in the leg and Mustafa Kiziltan, 35, was hit in the thigh.

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Riley, from the Tottenham area, claimed he had been contacted by a "third party" and offered around £40,000 to be involved in a "smash and grab" robbery of 60kg of drugs.

He denied three charges of attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent to the girl, but was found guilty after a trial at the Old Bailey in August 2025.

The girl's family have previously described the profound emotional, physical, mental and financial impact the shooting has had on their lives.

"In a single moment, the future we had imagined for our daughter was torn away," her mother said in a statement after Riley was found guilty.

Detective Inspector Ben Dalloway, who led the investigation, said: "The process we used to obtain this confiscation was the first of its kind for the Met Police and demonstrates our continued efforts to hold criminals to account and ensure no one profits from organised crime."

(c) Sky News 2026: Man forced to pay shooting victim, age 9, in first-of-its-kind compensation