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Gunman caught on CCTV trying to shoot reveller outside London West End club

 Moment gunman opens fire in front of horrified clubbers in the heart of the West End (Metropolitan Police)
Moment gunman opens fire in front of horrified clubbers in the heart of the West End (Metropolitan Police)

In a terrifying image, a gunman is caught on camera trying to shoot dead a reveller outside a West End nightclub.

Tristan Samuels was shot twice in the back as he and a friend who had been stabbed fled a fight that erupted inside Opium in Soho. The brawl had spilled out onto crowded Rupert Street at 3am on August 25, 2019.

CCTV captured Richard Palmer, 39, racing after the stab victim, who collapses, and drawing a Beretta handgun from his bag as he gets closer.

One man could be heard telling Mr Samuels, in his 20s, to run, Woolwich crown court heard yesterday.

When Palmer catches up, he fires two shots in the middle of the street, hitting him twice. Palmer then ran to a silver Jaguar parked nearby and drove off.

Mr Samuels took himself to a central London hospital suffering damage to his internal organs, which was not critical. His friend was taken to hospital for his wounds but was also not in a life-threatening condition.

The Met’s Specialist Crime Command attended the scene and found two bullet casings. They began reviewing CCTV, dashcam footage and speaking to witnesses.

Officers found the car parked outside an address in Ruislip on August 26 with Palmer’s fingerprints on the rear doors. Enquiries revealed that Palmer met with Bolanle Roberts, 43, the day after the shooting to get rid of the gun.

Following a chase and struggle, Roberts was arrested on August 27 in Acton.

A search revealed £48,132 in cash and heroin and crack cocaine worth £27,000. Officers also found keys to a flat in Coleridge Drive, Ruislip, which was not Roberts’s home address.

In an airing cupboard of that property, a cache of firearms and ammunition were hidden in a rucksack. Around £95,000 of heroin was also discovered.

Among the firearms seized was the loaded Beretta used in the shooting, complete with rounds and a silencer.

The court was told that Roberts was a “quartermaster” for those who needed access to guns and ammo and could produce them when called upon. After becoming aware of Roberts’s arrest, Palmer when into hiding at a hotel in Hanwell assisted by Robert Dolan, 34.

Palmer, of Ealing, was sentenced to 15 years and six months after pleading guilty to attempted murder and firearm offences. Roberts of Ealing, received 15 years for possessing firearms and supplying Class A drugs. Dolan, of Hounslow, admitted assisting an offender, conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and possession of criminal property. He was jailed for 12-and-a-half years.

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