Black Lives Matter activist Sasha Johnson remains in hospital in critical condition after being shot in the head in London a fortnight ago, with police continuing to appeal for information about the crime.
The self-styled ‘Black Panther of Oxford’, a key member of the Taking the Initiative Party (TTIP), the New Black Panther Party UK, and the autonomous Black Lives Matter Oxford group, remains “under sedation” following two operations designed to reduce pressure on her brain but is “still very, very much in a severe critical condition” and the full extent of her injuries are not yet clear, Detective Chief Inspector Richard Leonard has told the BBC.
DCI Leonard revealed that nobody who attended the Southwark house party where Johnson was shot has spoken to the police, and that her family are “concerned people are not coming forward to help us”.
“Yesterday marked two weeks since Sasha Johnson was shot. Although we have made a number of arrests, I am continuing to appeal to anyone who is yet to come forward to please speak with officers,” pleaded DCI Leonard in an official statement, adding that he would “urge those who were at the party to make contact and tell us what you know. It is vital that we gather as much information as possible to establish what happened in the early hours of that Sunday morning and why.”
DCI Leonard added that “Sasha remains in a critical condition, and her family has been left devastated by what has happened. We are in regular contact with them, and quite rightly, they have a lot of questions that are currently unanswered.”
#APPEAL | Detectives have made a renewed appeal for information two weeks on from the shooting of 27yo Sasha Johnson in #Southwark. Sasha remains critically ill.
☎️ 101 ref CAD 1172/23May if you have info that could help us – no detail is too small.https://t.co/fWV6wueX0J
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) June 7, 2021
“What has happened to Sasha has left us devastated. She is currently fighting for her life in hospital with two children asking where their mummy is, what do I tell them? Someone must have information to what happened and to come forward,” commented Johnson’s mother, Ellet Dalling.
“Sasha is passionate about standing up for others, please come forward and stand up for Sasha. Come forward to help us, I know it is not always easy but imagine if it was your daughter or the mother of your children. I believe there are people out there that can help,” she added.
The Metropolitan Police revealed early on that they were seeking “five black males” in connection with the shooting, and one young man, 18-year-old Cameron Deriggs, is due in court on charges of conspiracy to murder on June 25th.
Some fellow BLM activists, including Johnson’s own TTIP party, have been alleging the shooting and the arrests and charges which have followed from it are some sort of conspiracy, however, writing on social media: “what reason would an 18 year old black boy have to conspire to murder Sasha. who was really behind this conspiracy to murder sasha johnson and why? [sic]”.
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