London teenager charged in shooting of BLM activist

A teenager from south London appeared in court Saturday on charges that he was involved in the shooting of a prominent member of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Cameron Deriggs, 18, is charged with conspiracy to murder Sasha Johnson, who was shot in the head Sunday at a house party in southeast London. Johnson, a 27-year-old mother of two, remains hospitalised in critical condition.

Deriggs, who didn’t enter a plea, was ordered to remain in custody until his next court appearance on June 25. Deriggs is one of five people arrested in connection with the shooting earlier this week. The others have been released on bail as the investigation continues.

Johnson is a leader of the Taking the Initiative Party, which says she had received “numerous death threats” related to her activism. The party aims to combat discrimination, rising inequality and child poverty.

But police say Johnson appears to have been an unintended victim of the attack, which occurred during the early morning hours of May 23 when four men burst into the party and began firing.

Britain, like many countries, has faced an uncomfortable reckoning with race since the death of George Floyd, the Black man who was killed last May by a US police officer who knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes. Black Lives Matter protests swept the UK, with activists urging the government to face up to the legacy of the British Empire and the country’s extensive profits from the slave trade.