UPDATE (May 26): Five people have been arrested in connection to the Sasha Johnson shooting.
A 17-year-old boy was arrested on Tuesday afternoon on the grounds of suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and drug dealing.
Police then raided a Peckham residence, arresting a further three men—aged 28, 19 and 18—with suspicion of affray and possession with intent to supply class B drugs.
The final suspect, a 25-year-old man, was arrested on Tuesday evening following a car chase with the police, on suspicion of affray and failing to stop for police.
Original story below.
Black Lives Matter activist, Million People March affiliate and mother of two, Sasha Johnson, is currently in critical condition after she was shot in the head in Peckham, South London.
The 27-year-old woman has been left battling for her life in hospital after the reported shooting took place in the early hours of Sunday morning. Johnson, who is known for being a member of the social organisation Taking The Initiative Party, gained widespread recognition last year in the wake of the BLM protests for her powerful voice on issues concerning the Black community.
The Met Police have said that an investigation is in its early stages, but there are currently conflicting reports on whether the attack was targeted—according to some outlets, Johnson received “numerous death threats”, but the police and a friend of Johnson, Imarn Ayton, said they do not think the attack was targeted.
Imarn Ayton told ITV News that Johnson had been at a party when she was injured but she “does not believe she was the intended victim”. She added, “I do believe that it was a party and there was some type of dispute between two individuals or two gangs, and it was wrong place, wrong time. I think it’s more to do with gangs or gang violence or rivalry or some type of dispute between two different groups, and the incident wasn’t intended for Sasha as far as we’re aware, as I’m being told by closer friends and family.
“There was a rival gang that may have heard about someone being in that party that they didn’t feel quite comfortable with or trusted and so they resorted to driving past and shooting into the garden, and one of those shots obviously hit Sasha Johnson.”
In a public statement from her organisation, TTIP, on Instagram, they said: “Sasha has always been actively fighting for Black people and the injustices that surround the Black community, as well as being both a member of BLM and a member of Taking The Initiative Party’s Executive Leadership Committee. Sasha is also a mother of two and a strong, powerful voice for our people and our community. Let’s all come together and pray for Sasha, pray for her recovery and show our support to her family and loved ones.”
