Little Christian Hickey's life changed forever the day he was shot on his doorstep as gang warfare erupted onto the streets of Salford.
He and his mother were both struck by a bullet fired by a gunman in a shooting, launched in retaliation for the murder of Paul Massey, in October 2015.
The gangland hit was thought to be meant for Christian's father.
And as Christian Jnr begun the long road to recovery after the shooting, top of his Christmas list that year was for police to catch those responsible.
The man who fired the gun has not been identified, but a number of men behind the plot are now beginning lengthy jail terms.
, senior investigating officer DCI Carl Jones said: "In December 2015 we received a letter from Christian Jnr. It was his Santa list.
"At the top of his list was 'to catch the bad man who hurt my mum and me', which is quite heartbreaking really, given what he had gone through.
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"I'm glad to say we have now had another letter from him, saying 'thank you for all your help, I really appreciate it', and a little note at the bottom [saying] 'can I have my iPad back?'!
"He is an absolutely smashing little lad, who has been through absolute trauma.
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"I just hope now that they can start rebuilding their lives and do what other normal kids of that age would be doing.
Christian Jnr spent more than a month in hospital, and underwent three operations.
He had to use a wheelchair when he was discharged.
It took about 12 months for him to walk again after having more operations and extensive physiotherapy.
He missed school for more than a year, and suffers recurring nightmares. He is still tormented by the horrific incident.
His mother Jayne also required multiple operations and was in hospital for more than a month.
She does not have any feeling in either of her knees because of nerve damage.
At court, the judge, Mr Justice Popplewell, said: "Christian has been robbed of a normal childhood.
"There is no hyperbole in Jayne Hickey’s statement that their lives were torn apart and will never be the same again.
"They were caught in the crossfire as gang warfare between the A-Team and their rivals spilled out and affected the innocent."
More charges could be brought against Salford gangsters following Christian Hickey shooting trial
