Life for gunman captured on CCTV

Laidlaw "intended to kill" his victims the case judge said
A gunman who went on a shooting spree in north London injuring two people, has been jailed for life.

Former boxer John Laidlaw, 24, who had earlier threatened to "kill all black people", was found guilty of three counts of attempted murder.

Laidlaw, of Holloway, north London, shot at two people in Islington, north London, last May. He missed one of his targets and hit a third person.

One of his victims, Abu Kamara, still has a bullet lodged in his neck.

The Old Bailey heard Laidlaw shot Mr Kamara, 44, in Upper Street before accidentally shooting Emma Sheridan at Finsbury Park Tube station, as he aimed at a second man.

Laidlaw was ordered to serve a minimum of 15 years in prison for the attacks.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Kamara said he was "very happy" with the sentence.

"I know he's off the street and he can't do anything else to anybody," he said.

'Intended to kill'

Passing sentence Judge Samuel Wiggs said Laidlaw "intended to kill" his victims, but they were not racially-motivated attacks.

Racist past of gunman

"Although both people you aimed at were black I make no finding that your crimes were racially motivated," he said.

Following the conviction it emerged Laidlaw was found guilty of a racially-aggravated assault on a driver in 2004 and given a community punishment just days before the London shootings.

Social worker Mr Kamara, 44, was with friends after a game of badminton when a sports bag belonging to one of his colleagues brushed against Laidlaw's friend as they passed each other.

The gunman reacted by pulling out a gun and shooting Mr Kamara. The bullet deflected off Mr Kamara's chin, went through his voice box before finally lodging near his spinal column.

Half an hour after shooting Mr Kamara, Laidlaw shot at Evans Baptiste who was with a friend.

Mr Baptiste had chased Laidlaw after recognising him as the man who had attacked him with a hammer earlier in the year.

The bullet brushed past Mr Baptiste and struck 26-year-old Emma Sheridan in the back.

During the trial the jury saw CCTV footage of Laidlaw at Finsbury Park Tube station brandishing a gun as onlookers cowered in fear.

Laidlaw was also found guilty of two firearms charges.

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