Police in London say Black Lives Matter activist Sasha Johnson is in critical condition after being shot in the head in south London in the early hours of Sunday.
Metropolitan Police said officers were called to the scene in the Peckham area of south London around 3 a.m. Sunday after gunshots were reported. They found a woman, later identified at Johnson, with gunshot wounds to the head.
A close friend of Johnson’s, Imarn Ayton, told the BBC in an interview that Johnson was at a gathering in the neighborhood when shots were fired from a passing car. The friend said she believe the shots were fired by a gang member who thought a rival was in the area at the time and that Johnson was not the intended target.
Police also gave the same assessment of the incident and are urging witnesses to come forward.
Johnson became well known last year for organizing anti-racism protests last year in the wake of the death of George Floyd while in police custody in the U.S. city of Minneapolis last year.
The mother-of-two is also a member of the newly formed Taking the Initiative Party, which has been described as "Britain's first Black-led political party." The party issued a statement saying that Johnson has been the target of numerous death threats.
Ayton said Johnson had undergone successful surgery in a south London hospital and her parents were with her.
