‘I feel sorry for gunman who tried to kill me’

A disabled victim of an attempted gangland hit has told how she feels sorry for her attacker, while calling for a clampdown on gun crime.

Double amputee Amy Ashitey, 29, was left for dead after the man who executed her partner Dothan Gordon shot her as she lay in her bed.

The killer, drug dealer Daniel Bidace Anthony, 30, was sentenced to 42 years behind bars last week. But today Ms Ashitey said: “I feel sorry for the man who tried to kill me. I pity him because at the end of the day you have to be in a very desperate situation to do something like that.”

Ms Ashitey also told of her terrifying ordeal at her partner’s home in Ealing last June. Bidace Anthony fired twice at her, with one bullet piercing part of her lung and now still lodged in her body, while the other missed before the gun jammed.

His target was Mr Gordon, who had been middleman in a £100,000 drug deal, but Bidace Anthony wanted to kill Ms Ashitey because she recognised him, jurors at the Old Bailey were told.

She said: “It was an absolutely horrifying experience. I still have nightmares about it and I’m forced to relive the experience every day of my life.

“My partner was no angel but there’s a huge difference between what he did and killing somebody. When I heard the verdict I was so happy. I thought finally ‘this is what justice is’.”

Now the mother-of-three is urging tougher sentences for those caught carrying guns on London streets.

“Sentences have been too lenient for too long and that is a huge problem,” she said. “If people don’t think they are going to receive the strongest possible punishment then what is to deter gun crime?

“At the end of the day you don’t carry a gun or a knife if you don’t think you will use it. I’ve been to hell and back but I’ve got a very strong family around me and I’m glad that I’m still here to tell the tale.

“Now I just want to see harsher penalties so hopefully others will not have to go through the same hell as me. I want to continue campaigning to beat the scourge of gun crime on our streets.”

Bidace Anthony showed no emotion as he was found guilty of murdering Mr Gordon “with totally merciless

deliberation” and told he must serve at least 42 years before being considered for parole. He was also convicted of attempting to murder Ms Ashitey.