Black Lives Matter activist left in critical condition following ‘unknown’ shooting

Words Sarah Adama

Sasha Johnson, 27, a Black Lives Matter activist, has sustained a gunshot wound to her head at a garden party in Peckham, South London. Sasha Johnson became one of the most prominent voices in the protests that swept the U.K last summer following the murder of George Floyd and was one of the main organisers of the first ever Million People March. Ms Johnson is a senior member of the Taking the Initiative Party (TTIP) which has been called the “Britain’s first Black-led political party” and put forward its first candidates in May’s local elections. The party said she had received “numerous death threats” because of her activism. “Within the last four weeks prior to this attack, Sasha’s car was vandalised, and the windows were smashed, nothing was stolen from the vehicle apart from Sasha’s megaphone, which she uses during protesting,” TTIP said they believe this was a symbolic attack.

Ms Johnson, who called herself the ‘Black Panther of Oxford’ following her studies at Ruskin College Oxford, is a mother of three who works to deliver food and groceries to families in need, according to the party. The TTIP has accused the met police of ‘playing down’ the shooting in stating that there was no evidence to suggest a targeted attack or the woman “had credible threats against her prior to this incident.” Though, a close friend of hers Imarn Ayton whom she met at the BLM protests last summer has reason to believe that Ms Johnson was not the intended target, and the incident was “more related to rival gangs as opposed to her activism.” She believes it was a matter of wrong place, wrong time.

At a vigil on hosted Black Lives Matter UK hosted a vigil on Monday evening outside Kings College Hospital South London brought supporters and activists alike together to show their support and solidarity. Many describe Ms Johnson as a warrior, a mother and a fearless campaigner who was thrust to the forefront of the struggle for justice in the U.K. “No Justice, No Peace,” the crowd chanted.

A friend of Ms Johnson, Leo Muhammad said that “whether it [the shooting] was targeted or [whether] she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, the fact is, nobody is spraying bullets into white communities, but it’s a regular occurrence within the black community. We should be very concerned about that kind of activity.” Since then, five men between the ages of 17 and 28 have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.