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| Bouncer shot in ‘racist
attack’ |
A DOORMAN shot at the Elbow Room bar, in Chapel Market, Angel,
in what police believe was a racist attack, was yesterday (Thursday)
in a comfortable condition in hospital.
The Kosovan, in his mid 20s and nicknamed Claude, was confronted
by three white men in their early 20s after refusing them entry
for being drunk on Sunday night.
Police believe Claude was almost certainly the victim of a ‘respect’
attack where the gun man returned after ‘losing face’.
The manager of a takeway opposite the Elbow Room said: “The
men trying to get in were saying why won’t you lot let us
in? We’re British and you’re bloody foreigners. The
argument was quite strong.”
Witnesses said they heard a loud altercation between the Kosovan
doorman, his black colleague and the three white men at around
8.20pm.
There was a scuffle with pushing and shoving and some punches
were thrown.
The trio said they “were going to come back” and shoot
the bouncers, a common threat which they shrugged off as empty
words.
Detective Sergeant Neil Lemon, from shootings team Operation Trafalgar,
confirmed the three men racially abused Claude and his colleague.
He said: “At 10.20pm, one or more of the men returned and
pointed what we believe to be a revolver at the door staff. One
escaped by running up Chapel Market and the other tried to get
back inside the club, when he was hit by at least two rounds.
“It was a totally unprovoked attack on a doorman merely doing
his job.”
The takeaway manager said: “I rushed over to see him and he
had been shot in the back and in the shoulders. He had fallen on
the floor. Some people were mopping up the blood and he was saying
he was going to die. One of the women staff members was comforting
him.
“Armed police arrived 10 minutes later. There was a lot of
blood on the floor and everyone was panicking.”
Firearms officers sealed off the area but the gun man had already
escaped.
Claude is in a comfortable condition, requiring oxygen to breathe,
at an undisclosed north London hospital.
DS Lemon conceded that if he had not turned and run “it could
have been a different story”.
On Monday forensic specialists removed packages of evidence from
the building. Officers are also looking at hours of CCTV and interviewing
scores of witnesses from the venue and passers-by.
A man was arrested on Monday, questioned by police and released
on bail.
The takeaway manager said: “I’ve worked here for two years
and we know the two doormen very well, they come in, get some food
and are very friendly.
“Of course there’s always arguments but when they say
they are going to come back they never do. Nothing like this has
ever happened before.
“When he realised these guys were armed, he tried to get inside
the building. He was running for his life.”
The Elbow Room declined to comment on the incident. |
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