Woman in her 60s used as human shield during gun and knife attack by east London gang in Overground station
13 August 2024, 13:10
A woman in her 60s was used as a human shield by a man who was being shot at and stabbed by east London gang members in a train station.
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The 64-year-old woman was grabbed by the victim as the attackers tried to kill him in a lift at Hackney Central Overground station last March.
All four teenagers - 18-year-olds Elisandro Pinto Alves, Hanzell Greenaway, Jaheim Thomas, and Marvin Edokpolo, aged 19 - have been convicted of attempted murder.
Thomas and Greenaway were jailed for 19 years, Alves for 17 and Edokpolo for 22 years and three months.
The attack took place on March 1, 2023, when Edokpolo was told that the victim, a 20-year-old man, was on the train to Hackney Central.
Edokpolo told the other three, who were all in a nearby McDonald's, and they rushed to Hackney Central.
At the station, the victim left a train and called down the lift to the platform. At the same time, the woman got into the lift to go down to the platform from the overbridge.
At this point, Pinto Alves, Greenaway, and Thomas spotted him and began their attack, with Greenaway arriving first.
The victim got out his own knife and ran into the lift, where the woman was standing. He was stabbed for the first time by Greenaway. He then managed to push the attacker out of the lift, but not before getting stabbed again.
Then Pinto Alves and Thomas joined in the attack, with Pinto Alves swinging at the victim with a knife, and Thomas shooting into the lift with a gun.
By this point the 20-year-old man was using the woman as a shield, but she was not physically harmed by the attack. He was shot in the leg and stabbed again.
The three attackers then fled the scene on bikes. The assault was caught on CCTV.
The 20-year-old was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries, but survived thanks to the efforts of paramedics at the scene and in the ambulance.
Officers found a knife, a phone charger and cable, blood, a bullet, and a bullet casing at the scene.
Pinto Alves, Thomas and Greenaway were caught two days later after police combed through CCTV, phone data and vehicle tracking, tracking them between London, Dunstable and Folkestone.
Officers carried out a planned stop on a car they believed to be carrying Thomas and Greenaway, but which turned out to have Pinto Alves inside too. They found the gun used in the attack on the underside of the car.
Edokpolo was arrested on March 7.
The group was convicted on May 22 at Snaresbrook Crown Court, and sentenced on August 7.
As well as attempted murder, Pinto Alves, of Overbury Street, Greenaway, of Munro Way, and Thomas of Cassland Road, were found guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, two counts of possession of a pointed/bladed article in a public place, and violent disorder.
Edokpolo only faced the murder charge, and was found guilty.
The judge ordered for the men to serve two thirds of their sentences with the remainder on license.
Senior investigating officer, Detective Inspector Paul Attwell said: “This was a shocking attack in broad daylight that was fortunate not to be fatal, not only to the intended victim but the innocent witness in the lift.
"Thankfully, incidents of violence involving firearms on the rail network are extremely rare, but when they do occur we will do everything in our power to bring those responsible to justice.
“This was a highly complex investigation and I thank those at BTP who worked tirelessly to build this case. This outcome reflects their hard work and professionalism, and I’m grateful to see these sentencings handed down.”
