NHS worker was innocent victim of ‘petty but fatal game of one-upmanship’ as Old Bailey is told of gang violence
A young NHS worker was knifed to death in a frenzied attack by four gang members looking for targets in enemy territory in a "petty but fatal game of one-upmanship", a court has heard.
Marketing graduate David Gomoh, 24, was killed on April 26 last year at the height of the first wave of the pandemic.
Mr Gomoh had been working in supply and procurement for the health service when he was killed.
After suffering catastrophic injuries in the attack in Freemasons Road, east London, Mr Gomah managed to get to his feet and stumble the short distance home, but he bled to death in front of his horrified family.
David Ture, 19, of no fixed address, Vagnei Colubali, 22, of Kendal Way in Cambridge, Muhammad Jalloh, 19, of no fixed address, and a 17 year-old boy from Telford, Shropshire, are on trial for murder.
The Old Bailey heard yesterday that despite having nothing to do with gang violence, Mr Gomoh was chosen almost at random by members of the
Northside Newham Gang to send a message to the Custom House and Beckton gangs.
All four defendants are allegedly members of or associated with the Northside Newham Gang.
The jury was told that before the fatal attack, the four had allegedly targeted another male in the same area but that the man – who has never been identified – managed to escape.
In the seconds before the attack,mrgomohhadbeenon the phone to his girlfriend and the court was told she heard someone demand "Where are you from?", followed by the sounds of a struggle.
Prosecutor Oliver Glasgow QC said: "What had David Gomoh done to deserve such a fate? He had the misfortune to live in an area of London that is frequented by rival gangs.
"Rival gangs who are involved in a violent feud, rival gangs who like to attack each other, and brag about the devastation they have wrought upon each other."
Mr Glasgow said the murder was not a case of mistaken identity as the attackers did not care whom the killed, only where they came from.
All four defendants deny murder and a second charge of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.
The trial continues.