Express & Star

The police officer who shot Chris Kaba has told a jury he did not intend to kill him when he opened fire.

Martyn Blake, 40, told the Old Bailey that he was aiming at the central body mass of Mr Kaba, who was driving an Audi Q8 at the time, and intended only to stop the car.

The 24-year-old was shot in the head in Streatham, south-east London on September 5 2022, dying in hospital shortly after midnight the following day.

The police marksman who shot Chris Kaba has told a jury he thought one of his colleagues was about to die when he opened fire.

Giving evidence in public for the first time at the Old Bailey on Monday, Martyn Blake said he was “filled with dread” as the Audi Mr Kaba was driving moved backwards and forwards with police officers surrounding the car.

Mr Blake fatally shot Mr Kaba, 24, through the windscreen of the Audi in Streatham, south-east London on September 5 2022.

Chris Kaba told a friend the police were behind him minutes before he was shot dead through the windscreen of his car by a firearms officer, a court has heard.

Elisha Fizul called the 24-year-old on WhatsApp 10 minutes before he was killed by Martyn Blake during a police stop in Streatham, south London, the Old Bailey was told.

His last words before they lost contact were “Lish, one sec, I think there is police behind me”, jurors heard.

“Loud screeching” sounded a warning for a firearms officer who leapt away moments before the driver of a suspect car was fatally shot by a colleague, a court has heard.

Martyn Blake, 40, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of murdering 24-year-old Chris Kaba who was shot through the front windscreen of an Audi during an armed police stop.

Jurors have heard how Mr Kaba had been driving forwards and back in an attempt to ram his way out after being blocked in by armed response vehicles in Streatham, south London.

A police marksman was “fractions of a second” away from firing his gun at Chris Kaba when the 24-year-old was shot by another officer, a jury has heard.

The officer, known only as E156, told jurors at the Old Bailey that he mistakenly thought he had fired the fatal shot in the seconds after Mr Kaba was fatally injured.

Martyn Blake, 40, is on trial for murder over the death of Mr Kaba in Streatham, south-east London on September 5, 2022, which he denies.

A police driver feared his colleague was going to be run over just before Chris Kaba was shot by a Met marksman, a court has heard.

The officer, known only by the cypher AY3, described “a very dramatic scene” unfolding as he gave evidence at the Old Bailey on Monday.

Fellow armed officer Martyn Blake, 40, is on trial for the murder of Mr Kaba in Streatham, south-east London on September 5 2022.

Mr Kaba, 24, was shot once through the windscreen of the Audi that he was driving as he tried to smash between a marked police patrol car and a parked car next to it.

A firearms officer who raised his gun in the same second a colleague shot Chris Kaba during a police vehicle stop told jurors he feared he would be run over and killed.

The Metropolitan Police officer, referred to as DS87, was standing beside Martyn Blake when he opened fire on the unarmed driver of a suspect Audi car on the evening of September 5 2022.

The blue Audi had been used as the “getaway” car after shots were fired outside a school in Brixton the night before – and neither shotgun nor suspects had been found, jurors were told.

A firearms officer who raised his gun in the same second a colleague shot Chris Kaba during a police vehicle stop told jurors he feared he would be run over and killed.

The Metropolitan Police officer, referred to as DS87, was standing beside Martyn Blake when he opened fire on the unarmed driver of a suspect Audi car on the evening of September 5 2022.

The blue Audi had been used as the “getaway” car after shots were fired outside a school in Brixton the night before – and neither shotgun nor suspects had been found, jurors were told.

A police marksman shot Chris Kaba dead believing “one or many” officers could be killed as the suspect attempted to escape at “any cost”, a court has heard.

Martyn Blake, 40, shot the 24-year-old in the head through the windscreen of an Audi car during a police stop in Streatham, south London, on September 5 2022.

Moments before, Mr Kaba had tried to get away by driving forward and then reversing into a police car which had blocked him in, jurors have heard.

A 49-year-old man was found dead after a blaze at a property divided into bedsits.