Family of boy, 2, who survived being shot in head appeal for information as police offer £20,000 reward

The grandmother of a two-year-old boy who survived being shot in the head "by sheer chance" today appealed for people to speak to police as they offered a £20,000 reward.

Lillian Serunkuma said the attack on the child, who survived after the bullet missed an artery by just a millimetre, had “perplexed” her and she worried that someone who would do that “is a risk to the community”.

She has appealed for people with information to “do the right thing” and come forward to help police after the shooting in Harlesden on Wednesday, June 3.

The boy’s mother was also hit multiple times as she tried to shield the boy inside a car outside the family home.

Along with offering the reward for information that leads to the conviction of those responsible, Scotland Yard also released CCTV of a moped they believe was involved in the incident.

Two young men in their late teens were also wounded in the attack in Energen Close at around 9.45pm by a gunman it is believed left on a moped. Two other children were present in the car but were unharmed.

Detectives believe a man carrying a hand gun fired a shot at one of the teenage men and then fired into a car containing the boy, his mother and the other teenage male.

The injuries sustained are expected to have a long-lasting impact on the victims, police said.

It was the second tragedy to strike the family of Ms Serunkuma, whose son Quamari Serunkuma-Barnes, 15, was stabbed to death walking home from school in January 2017.

Ms Serunkuma said: “This situation has had me perplexed by the actions of the person who did this and as much as I appeal to those who have any information I also understand their reluctance to say anything, however I urge them to do the right thing as this could have happened to anyone.

“The perpetrator chose to do this to innocent victims, therefore this is not a person that should be free if anyone knows something. I worry that someone with that mind-set is a risk to the community. This is something no family should have to deal with. The fact that an innocent child was also a victim, it’s important that people acknowledge this should never happen and any information however insignificant at the time may be important now.”

Detective Chief Inspector Pete Wallis, Specialist Crime North, who leads the investigation, said: “This was an appalling attack that left a little boy fighting for his life and, by sheer chance, did not end in a fatality. We have worked around the clock to try and find those responsible but we need the public’s help. We are now offering a £20,000 reward for information that leads to the conviction of those responsible for this attack.

Six people have previously been arrested in connection with the investigation.

A 19-year-old and two men aged 20 were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

Three men aged 23, 29 and 37-year-old man were all arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. The 29-year-old was later arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.

They have all been released under investigation.

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