A 38-year-old man was shot outside his family’s popular Turkish restaurant in east London after they allegedly refused to pay £100,000 to a feared north London gang, a UK court has heard.
Beytullah Gunduz, 39, who prosecutors say is linked to the “Hackney Turks” gang, also known as the Bombacilar or “bombers”, is accused of conspiring to murder restaurateur Onur Guzel following a bitter turf dispute involving rival Turkish gangs, Sky News reported.
According to prosecutors at the Old Bailey, the gang suspected Guzel’s family of financially supporting the rival “Tottenham Turks” and allegedly demanded the “eye-watering” sum weeks before the shooting.
The attack took place outside the family-run Umut 2000 restaurant in Dalston on June 20 last year. CCTV footage played in court reportedly captured Guzel screaming in pain after collapsing on the pavement with a gunshot wound to his torso.
Though he survived, Guzel was left with life-altering injuries and now reportedly lives with a stoma bag.
Gunduz has dismissed charges of conspiracy to murder and an alternative charge of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm.
The alleged gunman, identified as Dogan Over, is not facing trial as he is believed to have fled to Istanbul after the attack. Prosecutors said the white Kia Niro used in the shooting was torched minutes later.
The court also heard that the Guzel family and their restaurant had been targeted in two earlier shootings linked to tensions between Turkish gangs in London.
Prosecutor Jane Bickerstaff KC told jurors that Gunduz and an associate initially approached the family after a shooting at Guzel’s brother’s home on April 5, allegedly blaming the Tottenham Turks and offering help.
However, after another shooting at the restaurant on April 7, the gang allegedly accused Guzel’s father of secretly paying money to their rivals.
“His father denied giving money but the people he was speaking to didn’t seem to believe him,” the prosecutor said in court. “They said that the Tottenham group were their enemy and gave his father a week to give them £100,000.”
On the day of the shooting, Guzel reportedly saw Gunduz earlier but did not notice the attacker while taking a phone call outside the restaurant.
“He just heard a loud bang and immediately felt heat. He knew it was blood and worked out that he had been shot,” the prosecutor told the jury. The trial is currently underway.
