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Jean Ross |
Dance floor shooting ‘mistaken identity’?
Gunman may have killed wrong man, inquest told
A GUNMAN who shot dead a father-of-two in a King’s Cross nightclub may have got the wrong man, a senior detective has revealed.
Daniel Ross, 22, was on the dance floor in Scala when he was shot in the head at point-blank range in September 2006.
Although more than 800 people were at the Pentonville Road venue at the time of the shooting, only a handful have ever come forward, leaving police to describe their investigation as having hit “a wall of silence”.
Detective Inspector Pete Holdcroft told an inquest at St Pancras Coroner’s Court on Tuesday: “We’ve had mixed intelligence as to the whys and wherefores of the incident. There’s been no clear motive – it’s not even clear if Daniel was the intended target.
“This has been a particularly difficult investigation. There were numerous people in and around Daniel, but unfortunately nobody has come forward to provide an account.”
The investigation has been frustrated by a lack of witnesses despite several appeals from police and Mr Ross’s parents, Jean and Ivan, from Kilburn.
Although police believe they know who is behind Mr Ross’s killing – eight people have been arrested in connection with his death – they say they are unable to press charges without witnesses.
DI Holdcroft added: “Although I’m confident we’ve got the gunmen going in and out [of the club on CCTV], unfortunately, until I know who they are, we’re unable to take it any further.”
However, he said the case would never be closed and that the “door” to police – and anonymity as a witness – was absolutely open. A £20,000 reward for information is also available.
Mrs Ross, a resource manager for BT, said she was given the news that her son was dead in a phone call from his girlfriend at 5am.
“I was awake – I hadn’t been able to sleep that night,” she told the court.
“It was his girlfriend – Rodney [a friend of Mr Ross’s who had been with him at Scala that night] phoned her and she phoned me. Police arrived and took us to hospital.”
Despite being rushed to University College Hospital in Euston, Mr Ross later died from a single gunshot wound to the head.
After the inquest, Mrs Ross said she would never have “closure” until her son’s killers were caught.
Recording a verdict of unlawful killing, coroner Dr Andrew Reid said: “It appears a third party entered the club and approached the group with whom Mr Ross was standing with and either deliberately or mistakenly fired a fatal shot into Mr Ross’s head. Either he was the intended victim or he was a mistaken target.” |
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