A drive-by shooting Saturday afternoon outside of a church in the United Kingdom has left a seven-year-old girl fighting for her life.
The Times of London reports a private memorial service for Sara Sanchez, 20, and her mother Fresia Calderon, 50, was taking place outside the St Aloysius Roman Catholic church on Phoenix Road in north London where mourners had gathered to release white doves.
A suspect or suspects opened fire with a shotgun, wounding the young girl and at least five other women.
The London Metropolitan Police said the girl remained hospitalized Sunday with life-threatening injuries. She remains in serious, but stable condition, according to the news site MyLondon.
A 12-year-old girl also sustained a minor leg injury but was later released from a local hospital.
One of the other victims, a 48-year-old, was described as having suffered “potentially life-changing” injuries, according to The Times.
Witnesses said the shots were fired from a black 2019 Toyota. A police source told The Daily Mail, a man jumped out of the car and started firing into the crowd.
The Rev. Jeremy Trood told the BBC he heard a bang and people “sheltered in the church until the police said they can leave.”
Video footage released on social media showed people running down the street after a loud bang is heard along with screaming and shouting.
On Sunday, police arrested a 22-year-old unidentified man on suspicion of attempted murder in the attack at the church, according to The Guardian.
MyLondon reports Fresia, one of the two women who were being remembered at the memorial service, tragically died due to a blood clot after a return flight from Columbia on Nov. 5, while her daughter Sara died a few weeks later after a battle with cancer.
The shooting at the church may be linked to a Columbian drug cartel, according to The Telegraph.
The outlet reported Fresia’s ex-husband was once jailed in the U.K. for his role in helping to launder money for a London drugs gang linked to the Colombian Cali cartel. Carlos Arturo Sanchez-Coronado was jailed for five-and-a-half years in 2009 after he was extradited from Columbia on three charges connected to money laundering and fake documents.
Sanchez-Coronado passed away in 2022. Scotland Yard told MyLondon they would make no comment on any suggested links between his conviction and the attack on Saturday.
Police said an investigation was underway. They were asking for the public’s help in gathering more information.
Shootings in London are uncommon. Mayor Sadiq Khan described Saturday’s daytime attack as a “deeply distressing incident.”
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