A NINE-YEAR-OLD girl is in a critical condition in hospital and three other men have been injured after a shooting in east London.

The incident occurred in the borough of Hackney at around 9.20pm last night when shots were fired from a motorbike outside a restaurant. 

The girl had been having dinner in the restaurant with her family when the incident occurred.

The men, aged 26, 37 and 42, were sitting outside the restaurant. They were taken to hospital for treatment for their injuries. Their conditions have been described as stable, but one potentially faces life-changing injuries.

Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway, of the Metropolitan Police, said: “We do not believe that the girl and the men injured were known to each other.

“As with any child, she was an innocent victim of the indiscriminate nature of gun crime.”

A motorbike believed to have been used in the shooting was recovered in nearby Colvestone Crescent, which police said was stolen.

Met Police forensic officers in Dalston, east London, near to the scene of the shooting in Hackney. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The force said officers were “keeping an open mind” as to the motive.

Conway said the force is keen to identify other witnesses who were in the area at the time of the shooting, and urged anyone with information or footage to share it with them. 

“Events such as these are rarely spontaneous. Someone knows who is responsible for this shooting that has left a little girl fighting for her life.”

Two police cordons were still in place on Thursday afternoon on Kingsland High Street and Colvestone Crescent while forensic officers were seen on their hands and knees searching outside a church near where the motorbike was recovered.

With reporting from Press Association