Enfield drill rappers convicted over fatal shooting sparked by online gang feud

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On the evening of June 26 last year, Emmanuel Popoola, 18, shot Keanu Harker in the head and chest with a pistol after chasing him in Enfield, north London, on the back of a high-powered electric dirt bike ridden by Teyvon Etefia, 18.

On Monday, Popoola and Etefia, both from Enfield, were found guilty at the Old Bailey of murder and possessing a self-loading pistol with intent to endanger life.

The killing came amid a background of violent incidents arising from rivalry between two Enfield gangs, the 3×3 gang, and the Get Money Gang (GMG).

It was motivated by a row on Snapchat in which comments were made, through voice messages, implying that Popoola did not have the money to buy data for his mobile phone, the Old Bailey heard.

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Afterwards, gang members bragged about the murder in drill rap videos, jurors were told.

Popoola had performed under the drill rap name Constancy and Etefia rapped under the name Take Risks, jurors were told.

Prosecutor Louise Oakley KC told jurors how the defendants had chased Mr Harker on a high-powered e-bike.

She said: “The speed of the Sur-Ron bike that Emmanuel Popoola and Tayvon Etefia were on meant they gained ground on Keanu Harker very quickly and, as they rode alongside him, Emmanuel Popoola shot him.

“He fired three shots from a very short distance. Two of them struck Keanu Harker in the head and chest. Tayvon Etefia did not flinch.

“Keanu Harker immediately fell off his bicycle on to the road. He was fatally injured but somehow managed to crawl a short distance into the front garden of a residential address just off the Great Cambridge Road.

“Emmanuel Popoola and Tayvon did not stop. They continued to make good their escape.”

Alerted by the gunshots, witnesses found Mr Harker’s bicycle lying in the road covered in blood and followed a trail of the victim, who died at the scene.

Following the shooting, the defendants fled the scene, dumped the e-bike, discarded their clothes and Etefia got rid of a machete in a neighbouring garden.

The pair were then collected in a car driven by fellow drill rapper Eliezer Mbaki, 25, who was known as Spider, and a youth recovered the e-bike.

The two killers then attempted to flee to France by train, jurors were told.

Within days after the shooting, Popoola boarded a one-way Eurostar service from London St Pancras to Paris with the help of his girlfriend Anais King, 19.

Etefia booked his own ticket but was tracked by police, who boarded the train and arrested him two minutes before it due to depart.

While Popoola remained in the French capital, police focused their attention on the suspect’s girlfriend who planned to join him and bring him nail clippers, a comb and deodorant.

Detectives received information of her Eurostar booking and devised a plan for her to lead them to Popoola with help from French police, who monitored King on her arrival at Gare du Nord.

From there, she took a taxi to Popoola’s apartment where Paris gendarmes arrested him.

Popoola was extradited from France to London and King was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Giving evidence, Popoola denied being involved in the shooting but was implicated by Etefia, who told jurors he had been on the back of his e-bike that day but he did not know he had a gun.

Jurors, who deliberated for a week, also convicted Mbaki, from Tottenham, King, from Enfield, and a 17-year-old youth, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, of perverting the course of justice.

Following the verdicts, Mr Harker’s family said: “Our son had just turned 18 when these individuals decided to take his life.

“We are grateful that some measure of justice has been served, but no amount of time they spend in prison will ever be enough for us. We have been left with a lifetime of pain and loss that can never be undone.

“We hope this case opens people’s eyes to how damaging gang culture has become for young people. Too many children are losing their lives and too many families are being left to suffer unimaginable heartbreak.

“Something must change before more young lives are taken and more parents are forced to endure the pain that we now live with every day.

”They also thanked the police officers for their “dedication, professionalism and tireless hard work throughout this investigation.”

Detective Chief Inspector Lucie Card, who led the investigation, described a “painstaking” months-long investigation to build a “comprehensive case against the killers and those who tried to help them”.

The Scotland Yard officer said: “Our painstaking investigation established that Keanu was murdered because his killers took offence to something that was said in a social media group chat.

“Rather than ignore the comments, Emmanuel Popoola armed himself with a pistol and with the help of Teyvon Etefia carried out a drive-by shooting.

“This was cowardly and disproportionate violence that has understandably shocked the community.”

Etefia and Popoola will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Thursday and Friday, with the other defendants being sentenced on a later date.