When Chris Kaba’s mother hugged her son one evening at her home in Peckham, southeast London, she did not know it would be the last time she ever saw the 24-year-old alive.
The rapper told her he was going out to visit a friend and drove away in a blue Audi Q8, never to return again after being shot dead by a Met Police marksman that same night in September 2022.
This week, Mr Kaba’s killer, marksman Martyn Blake, was dramatically found not guilty of his murder after being accused of shooting ‘without justification’ to stop the fleeing gang member escaping police.
As reporting restrictions in place during the trial were lifted by a jury today to reveal details about Mr Kaba’s past, looks at how the fatal shooting unfolded.
Nightclub shooting: August 30, 2022
Mr Kaba was a rapper who went under the names Madix or Mad Itch and was part of the 67 gang, a UK drill group and infamous gang.
On August 30, 2022, Mr Kaba shot a man in both legs at the Oval Space nightclub in Hackney, east London.
CCTV footage allegedly captures the moment the rapper opened fire at the club.
Mr Kaba would have faced trial for the shooting had he not been killed himself just days later.
Shotgun suspects: Morning, September 5, 2022
On what seemed like the start of a regular shift, firearms officers began the day of work by attending a daily briefing.
Senior officers went through a list of incidents, which included a shooting outside a school in Brixton, south London, the night before.
The Audi Q8 had been used as a getaway car after a woman saw four men wearing balaclavas getting out the vehicle.
She said one had a ‘very large shotgun’ inside his trousers and the suspects were on the loose.
A witness wrote down the number plate of the blue Audi Q8 involved and alerted the police.
Firearms officers chase Audi Q8: Evening, September 5, 2022
Mr Kaba, who was expecting a child, had been followed by police on the day he was shot.
An operational firearms commander recognised the number plate of the Audi Q8 as it drove past in a rush.
A firearms incident was declared just before 10pm and the chase started near Denmark Hill. Officers were not aware of the driver’s identity as they began the quiet follow.
The Audi was then boxed in by police cars, before it was was driven backwards and forwards trying to break free.
Mr Kaba’s killer told the jury that the violent ramming made him believe one of his colleagues would be killed, before he opened fire to stop the car.
Mr Kaba is killed: Evening, September 5, 2022
The 24-year-old rapper was shot in the head during the armed vehicle stop in Streatham that evening.
He died before being charged in connection with the nightclub shooting day earlier, but was later named on the charge sheet for the trial.