A leading British black rights campaigner was in a critical condition in hospital after being shot in the head, her fellow activists said last night.
Sasha Johnson, a mother of three, was found after police were called to reports of gunshots in Consort Road, Peckham, southeast London, shortly before 3am on Sunday.
Officers from Trident, the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Crime Command, who are leading the investigation, appealed for information. No arrests have been made.
Johnson’s friend Imarn Ayton, who met her during Black Lives Matter protests last year, told BBC News that she understood the attack to be “more related to rival gangs as opposed to her activism”.
Ayton said that Johnson, 27, was shot when gang members drove past a house and fired into the garden. She believes that Johnson was not the intended target.
Ayton said that Johnson’s surgery “went well” and that the activist’s parents are now with her in hospital.
The Taking the Initiative Party (TTIP), a political group Johnson works for, said in a Facebook post: “It is with great sadness that we inform you that our own Sasha Johnson has sustained a gunshot wound to her head. Sasha has always been actively fighting for black people and the injustices that surround the black community, as well as being a member of Black Lives Matter and a member of Taking the Initiative Party’s executive leadership committee.
“Sasha is also a mother and a strong, powerful voice for our people and our community. Let’s all come together and pray for Sasha.”
