Four jailed after sawn-off shotgun fired at funeral crowd in Euston
A little girl wounded in the legs, arms and pelvic area asked her mother: ‘Mummy, why has this happened to me?’
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A gang have been jailed after they fired a sawn-off shotgun into a funeral crowd and left a little girl with a shotgun pellet embedded in a muscle close to her heart.
Four women and two girls, aged 11 and seven, were injured when the drive-by shooting opened fire on mourners at a funeral for a mother and her daughter at St Aloysius Church in Phoenix Road, Euston, in January 2023. They were hurt just as the crowd turned to view white doves being released into the sky.
Tyrell Lacroix, 23, a well-known drill rapper using the name T. Scam; Jashy Perch, 20; Jordan Walters, 24; and Alrico Nelson-Martin, 20; were sentenced for conspiracy to wound with intent to cause serious harm, at Kingston Crown Court on Friday.
Perch was also sentenced for having an offensive weapon and for possession of cannabis. While Nelson-Martin was also sentenced for possession of a shotgun with intent to endanger life.
Lacroix was jailed for 21 years with a further five years on licence, Perch was jailed for 16 years with a further four years on licence, Walters was jailed for 13 years, and Nelson-Martin was jailed for 14 years.
The court heard that one of the little girls sustained gunshot wounds to her arms, legs, and pelvic region, as well as one pellet lodging in a muscle next to her heart.
In a victim impact statement, the girl’s mother said she had asked her, “Mummy, why has this happened to me?”
The mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: “She felt like she had done something wrong and could not understand why.”
She added that the incident had “taken away” her daughter’s innocence.
One of the women was also left with serious injuries that have affected her hearing and balance.
In a victim impact statement, she said: “I am half the woman I was before.”
The memorial service was a requiem Mass for Sara Sanchez, 20, and her mother, Fresia Calderon, 50, who died in November 2022.
Ms Sanchez had suffered from leukaemia for three years. She died after her mother died suddenly from a rare blood clot on arrival at Heathrow from Colombia.
The planning of the attack began in November 2022 when Lacroix found the black Toyota car that would be used in the shooting, Scotland Yard said.
Lacroix was part of a gang in north London and believed members of a rival gang would be at the memorial service.
Sentencing Lacroix, Judge Mark Bryant-Heron QC said: “You, Tyrell Lacroix, had been stabbed in an attack by a rival gang member almost exactly a year before the shooting.
“And you, Tyrell Lacroix, were set on revenge. Your co-conspirators played their part in helping you to get your revenge.
“It is the misfortune of those that organised the memorial service that the deceased people who were being commemorated were from the Regent’s Park estate, an area regarded by you as territory under the control of the Cumbo gang.”
DI Darren Jones, from the Specialist Crime Trident Investigation team, said: “These dangerous men brought unimaginable fear and horror to the streets of London. I am pleased our investigation has resulted in them being removed from the community for a considerable time.
“The innocent women and girls who were injured will have to deal with the impact of the shooting for the rest of their lives, something that Lacroix, Perch, Walter and Nelson-Martin will have time to consider as they serve their sentences.
He added: “I hope that the justice handed down today brings the victims a small measure of comfort and closure.”
Enquiries continue to identify a third man who was in the car at the time of the shooting.
Additional reporting by PA.