Cycle-riding teenager shot man in the chest in bloody revenge attack outside Leeds Morrisons

Teenager Mohammed Malik then rode off and fled the country, boarding a flight to Thailand.

He was arrested on his return to the UK weeks later after police pieced together CCTV from around the scene in Meanwood that helped identify him.

Leeds Crown Court heard that the victim was lucky not to be killed or suffer life-changing injuries after the bullet exited through his right arm, missing vital organs.

Malik, of Stonegate Edge, Meanwood, was handed an extended sentence of 18 years and six months after he admitted Section 18 GBH with intent.

He was previously charged with attempted murder and was due to stand trial, but a guilty plea to Section 18 was later accepted by the Crown.

The 19-year-old appeared in court for sentencing this morning from HMP Doncaster where he was being held on remand.

Judge Tom Bayliss KC told him: “Your motive is maybe gang related. I’m quite sure you armed yourself knowing the gun was loaded and capable of lethal force.

“You were intent on revenge. It was intended to hit him in the chest.

“You carried it to the scene. There was a significant degree of planning and premeditation.

“There was nothing impulsive about your actions. This was a targeted shooting.

“It was pure serendipity the bullet did not strike a vital organ or kill him.

“I have reached the conclusion that you are highly-dangerous young man.”

Armed police were called to Stainbeck Road at around 2.45pm on Sunday, August 11, last year.

The victim, a 27-year-old man, had been rushed to hospital for emergency treatment but was released days later. He later declined to co-operate with the authorities.

The incident was treated as attempted murder and detectives from West Yorkshire Police Homicide and Major Enquiry Team launched an investigation.

Prior to the shooting there had been a disturbance in the street between two groups of males across from the Morrisons Daily store in Stainbeck Road, near to the junction with Stainbeck Avenue.

Malik was involved in the confrontation, but left the scene on an e-bike to get the firearm and then return.

He was wearing gloves and a mask with a hood up over his head, despite the summer heat. He then produced the handgun and fired it after a tussle, hitting the victim.

Malik then went after the victim’s group as they ran from the scene. The gun was never found but a spent 9mm bullet shell was found at the scene. A silencer was also found in a bag nearby that was forensically linked to Malik.

Detectives carried out extensive enquiries, including a comprehensive trawl of CCTV cameras to trace the Malik’s movements that day.

Footage showed him riding around the area leading up to the shooting and being involved in an altercation with the group containing the victim in Stainbeck Avenue shortly after 2pm, before leaving and then returning.

He later claimed he had been robbed by the group.

The shooting itself was not captured on CCTV, but the sound of the gunshot was picked up by a nearby camera.

Malik had fled the country the following day - before he had been identified as a suspect – flying to Bangkok from Heathrow Airport on a ticket bought just hours before the flight.

He arrived back in the UK on September 12 and was arrested on his arrival at Manchester Airport. He gave a no-comment interview and later claimed he only took the gun to scare the group, which was rejected outright by Judge Bayliss.

Mitigating, Gillian Batts KC said the case had to be looked at “in the context of his age at the time” and that there is “clearly a very different side to his character”.

Malik’s sentence is made up of 13-years-and-six-months’ custodial element, with a five-year extended licence period. He must serve two-thirds of the custodial aspect before being considered for parole.

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Following the sentencing, senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector James Entwistle said: “This was a truly shocking incident where Malik, who was just 18 at the time, has been able to access a firearm and resort to such an extreme level of violence without any consideration of the harm.

“It was only by sheer chance that the victim wasn’t fatally injured.

“The criminal use of firearms on our streets is something that will always attract the highest level of investigation, and it was detailed and comprehensive enquiries by detectives from the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team that built up a clear evidential trail that led us to Malik.

“We hope that his conviction and imprisonment will help to reassure the community and serve as a reminder of the serious penalties that others can expect if they choose who involve themselves in this type of offending.”