Mother killed in gun attack outside church, court told

A drive-by shooting in which a woman was killed and two others were injured outside a church in north-west London was an "appalling and outrageous attack", a court has heard.

Michelle Sadio, 44, was fatally shot outside the River of Life Pentecostal Church near Church Road in Harlesden on 14 December 2024.

The mother of two had been attending a wake for 80-year-old Dianne Boatong, who had died nine days earlier. Members of the local Ghanaian community were gathered outside the church.

Perry Allen-Thomas, 27, Shaquille Sutherland, 26, Amir Salem, 19, and Tahjin Sommersall, 19, are on trial at the Old Bailey charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder. All four deny the charges.

The court heard that at about 21:00 GMT, guests including children as young as five were standing on the pavement when a black Kia pulled up and shots were fired into the crowd before the car drove away.

Sommersall, of Feltham, west London, is alleged to have been in the car with two other men - who fled the country after the incident and remain at large, jurors heard.

At least four shots were fired and it is not known who pulled the trigger, the court was told.

Legal administrator Sadio was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering gunshot wounds to her back, lung and right shoulder.

Kenneth Amoah, 39, a contractor for Transport for London, suffered a gunshot wound to his back and has been left paralysed below the waist. Kadeem Francis, 32, was shot in the foot.

Opening the prosecution case, Crispin Aylett KC said: "This attack was clearly as appalling as it was outrageous: innocent members of the public were gunned down as they were standing outside a church."

He said there was "nothing to suggest that any of the actual victims could have been the intended target".

The court heard the intended target may have been a rapper from Willesden and the gun used in the attack had been used in two separate shootings within the previous few months in the same area.

It is alleged the three young men accused of riding out on the drive-by shooting were put up to it by Sutherland and Allen-Thomas, both of Wembley, north-west London, who were nowhere near the scene.

"In short, the prosecution allege that Sutherland and Allen-Thomas got the three younger men to do their dirty work for them," Aylett said.

Jurors were told the Kia was stolen and driven on false number plates before later being doused in petrol and set alight.

The prosecution said Salem, from the Chalkhill Estate, bought some of the petrol that was used to ignite the car and that he "must either have wanted or else been willing to be a part of this wickedness".

Sommersall also denies possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

He denies being in the Kia at the time of the shooting, while the other defendants deny any involvement or knowledge of the attack.

The trial continues.

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