A suspected hitman who shot an eight-year-old girl and her dad while disguised as a Deliveroo rider has been jailed for at least 38 years.
Jazz Reid, 33, fired eleven times, hitting the child twice and her 34-year-old father five times as they sat with other family members in a car in Ladbroke Grove, north-west London, on November 24, 2024.
Bullets struck the dad in the back, chest, abdomen and pelvis area and injured his daughter in her buttocks and foot.
Both were lucky to survive.
They had been celebrating the girl’s eighth birthday at the time and had just spent the afternoon at a trampoline park.
Reid carried out two other shootings on October 9 and November 11 that year, the Old Bailey heard.
He drove to each hit on an e-bike, dressed as a Deliveroo driver and carrying the distinctive box used by the takeaway service.
Police found the gun used in the car shootings hidden under a slab of concrete near his home.
Reid denied attempted murder and three counts of wounding with intent but was convicted of all offences last November.
He had claimed the gun was planted outside his home to set him up because he owed a £10,000 drug debt.
Judge Sarah Whitehouse, KC, jailed Reid for 38 years with an extended license period of five years.
She said the lack of motive was of great concern and raised the possibility of ‘contract killings’, given there was no evidence Reid knew his victims.
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Judge Whitehouse said Reid might have carried out the shootings on behalf of others for reasons ‘relating to drug dealing or some other financial gain’.
Reid would drive a hire car to the area, change into his Deliveroo disguise – complete with a takeaway box – and cycle an e-bike to the location of his intended targets.
In the first shooting on October 9, 2024, Reid fired twice, hitting Ameile Buncombe in the thigh at the victim’s home in Notting Hill.
On November 11, 2024, Reid made his first attempt to shoot the 34-year-old father by firing four shots at an address in north London that was linked to the victim.
He was uninjured on that occasion.
Reid was driving a hire car when he was arrested near his home in Uxbridge last November 26.
Dramatic police body-worn video showed armed officers performing a hard stop and surrounding Reid in his car.
Convicted drug dealer Reid had denied being the gunman and claimed he was ‘set up’ over a £10,000 debt and the gun found at his home was ‘planted’.
In a statement, the mother of the injured child and partner of the 34-year-old victim said Reid’s actions had ‘completely shattered both my life and my family’s’.
The ongoing impact remained ‘enormous’, she said, adding: ‘I have frequent flashbacks and relive that evening every day.
‘I carry the guilt of not being able to protect my little girl from what happened to her, on a day we’d spent surrounded by friends and family celebrating her birthday.
‘That day should’ve been about her, not what it turned into because of this man.
‘The incident has completely turned my daughter’s life upside down. She is a shadow of the bubbly, bright, larger than life character she once was, and now rarely wants to go out and socialise while suffering daily trauma and questioning why it happened.
‘My partner has gone from being a happy, active, social man to one who is unable to walk. The pain of seeing him like this is unbearable for us all.
‘While we are grateful that justice has been served and to the investigating officers for their hard work throughout this investigation, unfortunately, no sentence will ever make up for what Reid did to my family.’
The mother of four became emotional in court as she told of her living ‘nightmare’.
Her eight-year-old daughter now suffered flashbacks and referred to the gunman as the ‘bad man’.
‘She is more anxious than an eight-year-old should be. It makes me sick there is still a bullet inside my baby girl.’
Following the sentencing, Detective Inspector Richard Scott, from Scotland Yard, said: ‘This was a truly shocking series of crimes carried out by a man intent on committing murder.
‘His actions were carefully planned and executed.
‘He intended to kill his targets but also ended up seriously injuring an innocent young girl who must now live with the trauma caused by Reid’s wicked actions.’
Superintendent Owen Renowden, who leads policing in Kensington and Chelsea, thanked the local community of Ladbroke Grove for helping with the investigation.
He said: ‘Jazz Reid was a prolific criminal in the Ladbroke Grove area with firearms at the centre of his offending, so it was incredibly important we did everything in our power to bring him to justice.’
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