Gang guilty of gunning down mum in drive-by shooting targeting rapper outside funeral

Two gunmen who caught an innocent mum in the crossfire of a shooting in a wake have been found guilty of murder.

Mother-of-two Michelle Sadio, 44, was gunned down outside the River of Life Pentecostal Church in Willesden, north London, on December 14 2024.

She had been among around 100 mourners, including children as young as five, to attend the wake for 80-year-old Dianne Boatong.

At around 9pm, guests were outside on the pavement when a black Kia pulled up and shots were fired into the crowd.

Ms Sadio, a legal administrator, was hit and died at the scene.

Transport for London contractor Kenneth Amoah, 39, was hit in the back and paralysed below the waist, and self-employed Kadeem Francis, 32, was shot in the foot.

The intended target was said to have been a rapper called Trapstar Toxic, real name Adetokunbo Ajibola, 33, who was at the event.

Amir Salem, who bought the fuel used to torch the getaway car, acted as a go-between – with phone data obtained by detectives pointing to him communicating with the gunmen in the car via social media messenger before relaying news of the shooting in a call to Allen-Thomas three minutes after the incident.

After an Old Bailey trial, Perry Allen-Thomas, 27, and Amir Salem, 20, were found guilty of murder and two counts of attempted murder.

Rapper Shaquille Sutherland, known as Lil Shak, 26, from Wembley, and Tahjin Sommersall, 19, from Feltham, west London, were cleared of wrongdoing.

The prosecution had alleged Mr Sommersall had been in the Kia with two other men, who fled the country after the incident.

At least four shots were fired, although it was not known who in the Kia pulled the trigger.

Allen-Thomas, from Wembley, north London, was said to have helped organise the shooting but ensured he was elsewhere at the time.

The Kia used in the attack had been stolen and was being driven with false number plates.

After the shooting, it was doused in petrol and set alight.

Salem, from Wembley, had bought some of the petrol used to set the fire, jurors heard.

On the night of the shooting, Salem was in contact with the Kia occupants and reported back to Allen-Thomas, jurors were told.

The weapon used in the shooting had been used twice before in the previous few months, and was said to be a ‘gang gun’.

In one of the earlier incidents, the occupant of a car opened fire on a group of males outside a pizzeria, discharging 11 rounds and hitting one person in the ankle.

There was no suggestion the defendants were involved.

Giving evidence in his trial, Mr Sommersall denied being in the Kia and claimed to have been on a council estate in Wembley at the time of the shooting.

The other defendants denied being involved in any way or knowing anything about it.

After the verdicts on Tuesday, Mrs Justice McGowan remanded the two convicted defendants into custody to be sentenced at a later date.