Nigerian-Born Teen Among Two Found Guilty of Murder in Enfield Gang Shooting

Emmanuel Popoola

Nigerian-Born Teen Among Two Found Guilty of Murder in Enfield Gang Shooting

LONDON — The United Kingdom’s Central Criminal Court, better known as the Old Bailey, has convicted two 18-year-old men of murder following a fatal shooting that exposed the deadly underbelly of gang violence and social media feuds in north London. On Monday, July 6, 2026, a jury found Emmanuel Popoola, who is of Nigerian heritage, and Tayvon Etefia guilty of murdering 18-year-old Keanu Harker in Enfield. The verdict came after a six-week trial that painted a chilling picture of how a trivial online slight escalated into a cold-blooded execution, leaving a family shattered and a community reeling from yet another loss of young life to street violence.

The homicide was rooted in a bitter rivalry between two Enfield-based gangs: the 3×3 gang and the Get Money Gang (GMG) , both of which have been linked to drill music and territorial disputes across north London. The immediate trigger was a series of voice notes exchanged on Snapchat, in which comments were made implying that Popoola could not afford to buy mobile data for his phone. What began as a virtual taunt — a dismissive remark about a teenager’s financial status — quickly became a real-world manhunt. On the evening of June 26, 2025, Popoola and Etefia mounted a high-powered Sur-Ron electric dirt bike and began patrolling the streets of Enfield in search of Harker, who was a known affiliate of the rival gang, determined to settle the score with lethal force.

According to prosecutor Louise Oakley KC, the defendants spotted Harker cycling home along the Great Cambridge Road, completely unaware that he was being hunted. Etefia rode the e-bike while Popoola sat as a passenger, and as they drew alongside the victim, Popoola produced a self-loading pistol and fired three shots at close range without warning. Two bullets struck Harker — one in the head and another in the chest — causing him to collapse instantly onto the tarmac. In a harrowing detail presented to the jury, Oakley described how the fatally wounded teenager somehow managed to crawl a short distance into the front garden of a residential address just off the Great Cambridge Road, desperately seeking help that would never come. Emergency services were called, but the teenager was pronounced dead at the scene, his bicycle, covered in blood, later found abandoned nearby as a grim testament to the violence that had unfolded.

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In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the killers abandoned their clothing and the e-bike in a bid to destroy evidence. They were picked up by an associate, Eliezer Mbaki, who drove them away from the scene and helped them evade the initial police cordon. But their freedom was short-lived. Two days later, on June 28, 2025, Popoola attempted to flee the country entirely, booking a one-way Eurostar ticket from London St Pancras to Paris with the help of his then-18-year-old girlfriend, Anais King, who paid for the ticket and later travelled separately to join him. Meanwhile, Etefia also attempted to board a Eurostar train but was intercepted by police just two minutes before departure, with officers boarding the carriage to arrest him in a dramatic last-minute intervention. Detectives tracking King’s movements used her as a crucial lead; when she flew to Paris, French authorities placed her under surveillance, and she unknowingly led them to the apartment where Popoola was hiding. He was arrested by Paris gendarmes and later extradited back to the UK to face trial, closing the net on a cross-channel escape that had nearly succeeded.

Beyond the two murder convictions, the jury also found three accomplices guilty of perverting the course of justice for their roles in obstructing the investigation. Eliezer Mbaki, 25, was convicted for driving the getaway car that spirited the killers away from the crime scene. Anais King, 19, was found guilty for facilitating Popoola’s escape and initially lying to investigators about his whereabouts. A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was also convicted for assisting in concealing evidence, including helping to dispose of the murder weapon and the discarded clothing. All three will be sentenced at a later date, with the court making clear that anyone who aids killers in evading justice will face severe consequences.

The jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts for both Popoola and Etefia on charges of murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, rejecting defence arguments that sought to minimise their culpability. The two men are scheduled to appear for sentencing on Thursday, July 9, and Friday, July 10, 2026, and they face life imprisonment, with judges expected to impose lengthy minimum terms that will keep them behind bars for decades. The gravity of the offence, combined with the premeditated nature of the attack and the use of a firearm, means both are likely to receive sentences that reflect the severity of taking a young life over a trivial social media squabble.

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In a powerful statement issued after the verdict, Keanu Harker’s family called for urgent action to address the epidemic of youth violence and gang culture that continues to claim young lives across the capital. They spoke of a lifetime of pain and loss that can never be undone, expressing hope that the case would open people’s eyes to how damaging gang culture has become for young people. “Too many children are losing their lives, and too many families are being left to suffer unimaginable heartbreak,” they said, urging policymakers and community leaders to intervene before more young lives are taken and more parents are forced to endure the same anguish they now live with every day. Their words resonated far beyond the courtroom, reigniting public debate about the root causes of youth violence in London.

Detectives from the Metropolitan Police have described the killing as “senseless” and praised the cooperation with French authorities that led to Popoola’s arrest, calling it a model of international collaboration in tackling cross-border crime. The case also highlights the growing role of social media platforms like Snapchat in fuelling real-world violence, particularly among drill music-affiliated gangs in London, where online disrespect is often met with offline retribution. Local community leaders in Enfield have called for renewed investment in youth services, mental health support, and conflict resolution programmes to prevent similar tragedies, warning that without meaningful intervention, the cycle of retaliation will continue to claim more young victims.

The court has remanded both convicted men into custody until their sentencing later this week, while the accomplices — Mbaki, King, and the 17-year-old — will face their own sentencing hearings in the coming weeks. The case continues to reverberate across the UK, reigniting debates about knife and gun crime, the influence of online gang disputes, and the urgent need for early intervention to steer young people away from violence before it is too late. For Keanu Harker’s family, however, no verdict or sentence can bring back their son, and they have vowed to continue campaigning for systemic change in memory of the teenager whose life was cut short over a dispute that should never have left a smartphone screen.