Daughter of woman left fighting for life after Wood Green shooting tells of moment her mother was gunned down

 
Victim Erdogan Guzel, 42, was an innocent bystander Picture: Facebook
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John Dunne @jhdunne14 July 2015
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The daughter of an innocent woman fighting for her life after being gunned down on a north London street today spoke of the moment her mother crumpled to the ground in a hail of bullets.

Sonya Gencheva, 51, who only arrived in London last month from Bulgaria, was returning home after a shopping trip when she hit in the right arm and hip by gangsters in a drive-by shooting.

Turkish bakery owner Erdogan Guzel, 42, died after he was hit in the chest by a bullet in the attack.

Police have confirmed that both he and Ms Gencheva were innocent bystanders and are investigating whether the shooting is connected with a turf war between rival gangs.

Ms Gencheva, who came to London to join her husband Nikolay and daughter Maya, is being treated at the Royal London Hospital.

Maya, 34, was with her mother when the gunman opened fire on Lordship Lane, Wood Green at 5.45pm on Friday.

She told the Standard: “My mother is a good person and came to London to look for work as a cleaner and this has happened to my family. We were just near home and had had a good day.

“My mother was loving London and was looking forward to a new life here - we are just devastated.”

She added: “We had just been shopping in Wood Green when I heard the shots. My mother was near me and I saw her fall to the ground.

Victim Erdogan Guzel, 42, was killed in the shooting Picture: Facebook
Facebook

“It was terrible, there was a lot of blood and I feared the worst I dived down to help her. Other people were also trying to help and I just could not believe what was happening in front of me.

“My mother is in a bad way - she has not spoken yet. I am so sorry the man died - this is so sad.”

Mrs Gencheva and Mr Guzel were not known to each other.

The double shooting came after father-of-two and owner of the Two Brothers bakery Mr Guzel, known as Eddie, had become increasingly concerned about the safety in the area after a gun was pulled on another shopkeeper last month.

His cousin Muhammet Guzel, 32, said: “A week before he was shot he was talking to a friend and said the way things are going around here, some innocent will end up being killed over nothing.”

At the time of the shooting Mr Guzel was sitting at a table outside the bakery talking to friends when the car pulled and a volley of bullets were fired at the small parade of shops.

A Met spokesman said: “At this early stage of the investigation, detectives believe that the two victims were not the intended targets of the shooting, and were likely innocent bystanders that were not known to each other. “

Witnesses are asked to call the incident room on 020 8785 8244 or via 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via crimestoppers-uk.org

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