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Daniel Ross |
‘Mistaken target’ theory over dance floor killing
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 at 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 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: “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 around Daniel, but unfortunately nobody has come forward to provide an account.”
The investigation has been frustrated by a lack of witnesses despite 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.” Despite being rushed to University College London Hospital in Euston, Mr Ross later died from a single gunshot wound to the head.
After the inquest last Tuesday, 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 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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