BLM activist Sasha Johnson injured in drive-by shooting

London Metropolitan Police say there is no evidence 27-year-old Sasha Johnson, a mother of two and anti-racism campaigner, was the intended target after she was shot in the head in Peckham, south London, in the early hours of Sunday, May 23.

Johnson, a prominent supporter of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) UK movement and also a member of the newly formed ‘Taking the Initiative’ political party, was attending a house party on Consort Road when the incident took place.

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While her activism with BLM was well known during the protests in Britain last summer over the killing of George Floyd, which may have given rise to death threats against her, the Met Police said they don’t believe she was targeted because of her activism or politics and they were not aware of any credible threat against her life.

As friends and supporters held a vigil outside the south London hospital where she was being treated, Imarn Ayton, a friend of Ms Johnson, told BBC London the doctors had carried out surgery on her fellow activist, which had gone well and she was “now with her parents”.

Ayton also revealed that, speaking with friends and family, she understands that “Sasha was at the house at which a rival gang may have heard someone was there who they were not comfortable with, and they resorted to driving past and fired shots into the house, one of which struck Sasha. I don’t believe she was the intended target.”

Black rights activist, Leo Muhammad, described Johnson as a young warrior sister who has been thrust to the forefront of the struggle for justice in the UK.

He said: “Whether she was targeted or whether she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, the fact is, nobody is spraying bullets into white communities, but it’s a regular occurrence within the black community. We should be very concerned about that kind of activity.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan issued a statement which said: “Sasha Johnson and her family are in our thoughts and prayers. I know the NHS are working incredibly hard in helping her. We have got to make sure we do all we can to support the police in catching those responsible for this awful shooting.”

FIERY spirit

Close friend and fellow Taking the Initiative party member, Clive Morrison, was also praying for Sasha Johnson’s recovery. He said: “I would describe her as a fiery spirit, a warrior queen and, the more I got to know her, the more I feel in love with her spirit. She inspired me to join the movement and I hope she pulls through.”

Johnson is an Oxford graduate who led BLM marches in her home city of Oxford last summer and, as one of the founders of the ‘Taking the Initiative’ party, called for social change in housing and education and the setting up of a race offenders list.

Support for her also came from black Labour MPs.

Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, tweeted: “Nobody should have to potentially pay with their life because they stood up for racial justice.”

David Lammy, Labour MP for Tottenham, described the news as “gut-wrenching” and said he was “Praying for Sasha Johnson, her family and friends that she makes a quick and full recovery.”

Claudia Webbe, an MP for Leicester East Tweeted: “When I think of the brutal shooting of Sasha Johnson, it reminds me that the culture of gun violence is all-consuming, affecting whole communities and neighbourhoods. The bullet does not discriminate in its effect. But too many women become collateral damage in this ‘culture of fear’.”

Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command are leading the investigation into the shooting and the Met has asked for the public’s support. If anyone saw anything suspicious in the Consort Road area in the early hours of Sunday morning or have heard information since that could help detectives, they are to get in touch with the Met.

George Ruddock