Luton shooter Zain Shah found guilty of attempted murder

The 22-year-old, who this afternoon was found guilty at Oxford Crown Court of attempted murder, claimed to have tried to shoot the metal bar out of victim Waris Kayani’s hand during the Luton shooting.

But the bullet hit Mr Kayani in the head, pushing splinters of bone 5cm into his skull. Fragments of bone and bullet had to be removed by surgeons at Cambridge’s Addenbrokes Hospital.

LUTON 'SHOOTING' READ MORE

• Prosecution opens case on day one of attempted murder trial
• Road rage incident led to shooting three days later
• Victim had armed himself with a crowbar
• Bullet fragment was stuck in victim's head
• Defendant gives evidence about what happened on the day of shooting

Waris Kayani is aimed at by Zain Shah, driving a stolen Audi A£ (Image: CPS)

The shooting followed a tit-for-tat dispute that began three days earlier when a friend of the victim, Imran Hussain, was involved in a road rage stand-off with the sister of Shah’s friend Bilal ‘Big Billy’ Ahmed.

Earlier on the day of the September 23 shooting, Shah and others had smashed up Mr Hussain’s car while ‘Billy’ Ahmed beat up the man in front of his two-year-old son.

Shah’s Vauhall Insignia was also damaged, he claimed.

He told jurors he picked up a stolen Audi A3 from a friend, whom he refused to name, and discovered the handgun in the driver’s door and a machete stashed in the vehicle. He claimed not to have known the gun was loaded.

Waris Kayani approaches the Audi A3 driven by Zain Shah (Image: CPS)

Giving evidence last week, Shah claimed that he had not intended to kill his victim – only shoot the metal bar from his hand.

“I panicked and I grabbed the gun. It was a reaction. It was an over the top reaction, but it was a reaction,” he said.

“I thought he was going to run and hit me with the crowbar.”

Shah, now 22, of St Winnifred’s Avenue, Luton, admitted being the shooter and causing his victim grievous bodily harm with intent. But he had denied a charge of attempted murder.

Jurors took more than a day to unanimously convict the Luton man of the attempted murder charge.

A bullet casing retrieved from St Mildred's Avenue, Luton, where the shooting took place (Image: CPS)

A machete was found in the dumped Audi A3 driven at the time of the drive-by shooting (Image: CPS)

The machete was found stashed in the Audi A3 (Image: CPS)

Following Shah's conviction, Judge Michael Gledhill KC asked defence counsel whether the man in the dock would name the friend who allegedly gave him the stolen Audi in which he claimed he had found the pistol.

Ashraf Khan, defending, said he had already spoken to his client. “I asked those questions and it’s negative.”

When the judge questioned the defendant's remorse, Mr Khan added: “His remorse is getting himself involved in an incident which did not involve him in the first place.

“But he doesn’t wish to get others into trouble because of what he’s done and therefore doesn’t wish to name anybody else.”

The handgun used to fire the 9mm shell at Mr Kayani has not been found.

Judge Gledhill adjourned sentence until tomorrow (Tuesday, November 29) morning. The charge of attempted murder of which he has been convicted carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, with a 'starting point' of 30 years behind bars.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward