9-year-old girl injured in Hackney drive-by shooting ‘held by father tight’ as hopes of recovery rise

The nine-year-old girl who is fighting for her life after being shot outside a Hackney restaurant is reportedly responding to her parents’ voices and holding her father’s hand.

The unnamed child has been in hospital since she was shot in the head while having dinner with her family at Evin Turkish in Dalston Kingsland High Street on Wednesday night.

On Saturday, the girl’s grandmother was reported to have said she was on a ventilator and that doctors could not remove the bullet.

However, a family friend told MailOnline that doctors had started to reduce her sedation and the girl was showing signs of a reaction.

The friend said: “He is on a ventilator but he is responding to some things which is good. When they (her parents) say something, she responds, like moving her finger.

“Her father spoke to her this morning and she answered, shook her hand, pressed it.”

The friend added that another operation would be attempted on the girl in the coming weeks after the initial attempt failed to dislodge the bullet.

“The doctors say he’ll be fine,” the friend added.

It has now been confirmed that the girl and her family were from Birmingham but were in London to visit them during their half term holiday.

They only stopped at the Turkish on Wednesday because the girl was hungry.

She was one of four people shot in the area by a gunman riding a stolen Ducati motorcycle.

Three men aged 26, 37 and 42 were also shot and are expected to survive, although one may have life-changing injuries. The 37-year-old man was discharged from the hospital.

It has not been specified who the intended target of the shooting was and the Metropolitan Police are continuing their enquiries.

Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway said: “I would like to thank the amazing healthcare professionals for their dedication and care to patients following this horrific incident.

“Our investigation continues apace with a dedicated team of detectives piecing together the facts and relentlessly focused on tracking down those responsible.”