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The young girl, left in a critical condition after being mistakenly shot by a suspected gangster hitman, was visiting relatives in London during her half-term break.
The Birmingham girl was still in hospital on Friday after she was struck by a bullet while eating at the Evin restaurant in Hackney, north-east London, on Wednesday night.
Her family moved to Birmingham two years ago and their relatives in Kerala, southern India, told the Guardian of their ordeal.
Three men sitting outside the restaurant were injured, with police now deploying extra armed patrols to try to deter any reprisals or escalation.
A man on a motorbike fired at least four shots and detectives believe it was a “targeted” attack requiring “significant effort” to carry out.
A volley of shots believed to have been aimed at an outside table included one bullet passing through the front of the restaurant and striking the child, who was “very lively” and happy as she and her family dined in the popular Turkish restaurant.
Her family is known to have visited friends and relatives in London from their home in Birmingham. Family members in the Indian state of Kerala said they were praying for her in their coastal village near the city of Kochi.
The child’s uncle said her family had moved to Birmingham to work as IT professionals. He added that the seriousness of her injuries was initially kept from her grandmother.
He said: “We told her it was a minor injury which kept her away from the local TV channels that broadcast the news. She had an emotional connection with the girl and they passed it on the phone at least every other day.
The family said the girl had already undergone one operation to save her life and that another might be needed. A special church service in the village was to be held on Saturday morning for the girl, who police said on Thursday was nine years old but who relatives said was 10.
Police have not released a motive, but one theory being investigated and supported by community sources is that the shooting was related to a gang feud.
Another theory is that it could be a group feud or a personal dispute, and detectives are trying to determine if the adults who were shot were the intended target. One source said: “Police are concerned about retribution.”
Police are scouring intelligence databases linked to gangs and organized crime as they try to figure out what happened in the build-up to the attack.
Another source said: “The fear is that this will not go unanswered.”
DCS James Conway, of the Metropolitan Police, said: “This shocking attack will have an element of pre-planning. This means that there are people who will know something that may be crucial to our investigation.
“We are particularly reaching out to our Turkish and Kurdish communities, particularly in North and East London, who I know are shocked and horrified by this crime. That’s because the three men who were shot have ties to those communities.
Police said two of the injured men, now said to be aged 44 and 42, remained in hospital – believed to be under extra security – and one suffered life-changing injuries. A 37-year-old man has been discharged from the hospital.
Police said the motorcycle used in the shooting was a Ducati Monster stolen in Wembley in 2021. The bike has a white body, red chassis and red rims, and at 9:20 p.m. on Wednesday, when the shooting happened, it was had registration plate DP21OXY.
Police have asked anyone with information about the whereabouts of the bike from 2021 or the attack to contact the Special Incident Unit on 020 8345 3865 or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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