Mum shot dead was unintended target of gang feud

Lianne Gordon died at the scene of the shooting, in which two other people were injured

A mother was shot dead as she sheltered behind her front door hours after returning from a family holiday in Jamaica, a court has heard.

Lianne Gordon, 42, was the unintended victim of a dispute between two gangs when she was killed in her home in Hackney, east London, on 5 December 2023, jurors at the Old Bailey were told.

A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies murdering Ms Gordon and the attempted murders of a youth aged 17 and a 21-year-old man on the same day.

The shooting of Ms Gordon was alleged to be the culmination of a series of incidents involving the teenage defendant and 21-year-old Elijah Seriki.

It is alleged they threatened Ms Gordon's son with a large knife as he smoked a cigarette on his doorstep on 1 October 2023.

The defendants are charged with affray, having a firearm with intent to endanger life and possession of a bladed article during an alleged "ride out" of their territory the following day. Both deny all the charges against them.

'Escalating dispute'

Opening their trial, Mark Fenhalls KC said Ms Gordon was sheltering behind her front door when the teenage defendant shot and killed her on 5 December last year.

"She was almost certainly not the target," he told the court. "But her tragic death was the culmination of an escalating dispute between two gangs. That dispute involved both [the youth] and Elijah Seriki."

The prosecutor said Ms Gordon lived in Vine Close with her 16-year-old daughter and 21-year-old son Kaymound Gordon, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair.

At the time of the shooting, Mr Gordon had been taking a shower when his sister emerged from her room to find her mother slumped on the floor, Mr Fenhalls said.

The prosecutor told jurors they would be struck by the "obvious devastation" of Ms Gordon's children and wider family but told them they must put any feelings to one side.

Mr Fenhalls said the shooting had resulted from a dispute between two Hackney gangs - the Pembury Gang with which the defendants were associated and the A-Road Gang, with which Mr Gordon was linked.

Over the years each gang would disrespect the other on social media, leading to revenge attacks, the jury was told.

Mr Gordon had admitted that he punched Mr Seriki in a shop because he thought he was about to draw a knife, the court heard.

In the incident on 1 October, he said the defendants "literally tried to stab" him on his doorstep.

The trial continues.