A drill rapper who murdered an 18-year-old man had to be hauled off a Eurostar train to Paris two minutes before it was set to leave so he could be brought to justice.Tayvon Etefia, 18, drove a high-powered electric dirt bike through Enfield, north London, while Emmanuel Popoola, also 18, fatally shot Keanu Harker in the head and chest with a pistol on the evening of June 26 last year.It followed a gang dispute on social media during which messages implied Popoola did not have enough money to buy mobile phone data.Popoola then fled to the French capital using a ticket paid for by his girlfriend, whom police used to lead them to the killer's hideout.Etefia, also a drill rapper, was arrested at London St Pancras station and was hauled off his Eurostar train by police two minutes before it was due to leave.The pair were found guilty at the Old Bailey on Monday of murder and possessing a self-loading pistol with intent to endanger life.Mr Harker was killed against a backdrop of violence arising from a rivalry between two Enfield gangs: the 3x3 gang and the Get Money Gang (GMG).Voice messages on Snapchat implied Popoola did not have the money to buy data for his phone which caused a row, the court heard. Images from the Metropolitan Police showed the moment Emmanuel Popoola and Tayvon Etefia shot Keanu Harker in Enfield, north London Etefia tried to flee to France but was arrested two minutes before his Eurostar train to Paris was set to leave He was hauled off the train at London St Pancras and arrested on the platform Popoola was hunted down by police, who used his girlfriend to track him to an apartment in the French capital Keanu Harker was fatally shot in June last year after a row on SnapchatJurors were told gang members had bragged about the murder in drill rap videos.Popoola performed under the drill rap name Constancy and Etefia was known as Take Risks.On the night of the murder prosecutor Louise Oakley KC said the defendants had chased Mr Harker on the Sur-Ron e-bike, adding their speed meant they caught up with him 'very quickly'.She said Popoola had fired three shots from a very short distance, two of which struck Mr Harker in the head and chest.'Tayvon Etefia did not flinch,' she added.'Keanu Harker immediately fell off his bicycle on to the road. He was fatally injured but somehow managed to crawl a short distance into the front garden of a residential address just off the Great Cambridge Road.'Emmanuel Popoola and Tayvon did not stop. They continued to make good their escape.'Witnesses heard gunshots and found Mr Harker's bicycle lying in the road covered in blood, the trail of which they followed to his body.He died at the scene.Popoola and Etefia fled towards Enfield Town park, dumping the e-bike and discarding their clothes before Etefia got rid of a machete in a nearby garden.The pair were seen walking away from the park wearing balaclavas despite it being a hot June day.A woman saw one of the men, later identified as Etefia, had stripped to shorts and T-shirt and had a gun-shaped object in his pocket.They were then collected in a car driven by another drill rapper, Eliezer Mbaki, 25, known as Spider, before a youth, then aged 16, collected the bike.Both killers then attempted to flee to France.Popoola boarded a one-way Eurostar service from London St Pancras to Paris at 7pm on June 28 last year with the help of his girlfriend, 19-year-old Anais King, who bought his ticket for £269. Eliezer Mbaki collected the pair after the murder while a then-16-year-old recovered the e-bike, which had been dumped Anais King helped her boyfriend reach Paris and was convicted of perverting the course of justiceEtefia booked his own ticket for the 8.31pm service following day but was hunted down by police, who boarded his train and arrested him two minutes before it was due to leave.Popoola made it to Paris but his girlfriend was still in London - she planned to join her boyfriend and bring him nail clippers, a comb and deodorant.Detectives discovered she had booked a Eurostar ticket and worked with French police to track her when she arrived at Gare du Nord.When she arrived King took a taxi to Popoola's apartment where gendarmes arrested him.He was then extradited to London and King was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.Popoola had denied his involvement in the shooting but Etefia implicated him by telling jurors he had been on the back of the bike.However Etefia said he did not know Popoola had a gun.Jurors deliberated for a week before reaching a verdict of guilty for both defendants.They also convicted Mbaki, from Tottenham, King, from Enfield, and a 17-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons, of perverting the course of justice. Etefia (front) and Popoola pictured on the Sur-Ron dirt bike at Enfield Town park, where they dumped the e-bike The pair pictured after dumping the bike as they walked on Essex Road, EnfieldAfter the verdicts, Mr Harker's family said: 'Our son had just turned 18 when these individuals decided to take his life.'We are grateful that some measure of justice has been served, but no amount of time they spend in prison will ever be enough for us. 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.'They also thanked the police officers for their 'dedication, professionalism and tireless hard work throughout this investigation.'Detective Chief Inspector Lucie Card, who led the investigation, described a 'painstaking' months-long investigation to build a 'comprehensive case against the killers and those who tried to help them'.The Scotland Yard officer 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.'Etefia and Popoola will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Thursday and Friday, with the other defendants to be sentenced at a later date.
Moment drill rapper is arrested on Eurostar for teenager's murder
Tayvon Etefia drove a high-powered electric dirt bike through Enfield, north London, while Emmanuel Popoola fatally shot Keanu Harker in the head and chest with a pistol on June 26 last year.







