Two teenage drill rappers, including a Nigerian national, have been convicted of murdering an 18-year-old boy in Enfield, north London, following a gang dispute that erupted on social media. Emmanuel Popoola, 18, and Tayvon Etefia, 18, both from Enfield, were found guilty at the Old Bailey on Monday, July 6, 2026, of murder and possessing a self-loading pistol with intent to endanger life. They will be sentenced later this week.
Details of the Shooting
On June 26 last year, Popoola shot Keanu Harker in the head and chest after chasing him on the back of a high-powered electric bike ridden by Etefia. The murder stemmed from a rivalry between two Enfield gangs: the 3×3 gang and the Get Money Gang (GMG). The dispute began on Snapchat, where comments were made implying that Popoola could not afford mobile data for his phone. Prosecutor Louise Oakley KC told jurors that the defendants caught up with Harker, who was also riding a bike, and as they rode alongside him, Popoola fired three shots at close range. Harker fell off his bicycle onto the road, fatally injured, but managed to crawl a short distance into the front garden of a residential address near the Great Cambridge Road. The pair did not stop and continued their escape.
Escape and Arrests
After the shooting, Popoola and Etefia dumped the e-bike and discarded their clothes. They were then collected in a car driven by fellow drill rapper Eliezer Mbaki, 25, and a youth recovered the e-bike. The killers attempted to flee to France by train. Within days, Popoola boarded a one-way Eurostar service from London St Pancras to Paris with the help of his girlfriend Anais King, 19. Etefia booked his own ticket but was tracked by police, who boarded the train and arrested him two minutes before it was due to depart. Police focused on King after Popoola reached Paris; detectives tracked her journey to the French capital, and French police followed her to Popoola's apartment, where he was arrested. Popoola was later extradited from France to London. King was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Gang Culture Condemned
Following the verdicts, Harker's family said: “We have been left with a lifetime of pain and loss that can never be undone. We hope this case opens people's eyes to how damaging gang culture has become for young people. Too many children are losing their lives and too many families are being left to suffer unimaginable heartbreak. Something must change before more young lives are taken and more parents are forced to endure the pain that we now live with every day.” Jurors were told that gang members bragged about the murder in drill rap videos after the killing.
Accomplices Convicted
Jurors, who deliberated for a week, also convicted Mbaki, King, and a 17-year-old youth (who cannot be identified for legal reasons) of perverting the course of justice. Detective Chief Inspector Lucie Card, who led the investigation, said: “Our painstaking investigation established that Keanu was murdered because his killers took offence to something that was said in a social media group chat. Rather than ignore the comments, Emmanuel Popoola armed himself with a pistol and with the help of Tayvon Etefia carried out a drive-by shooting. This was cowardly and disproportionate violence that has understandably shocked the community.”
Sentencing
Etefia and Popoola will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Thursday and Friday, with the other defendants being sentenced on a later date.
