Man's 'miracle' survival after being shot in face outside London nightclub

Police said a man 'miraculously" survived after being shot at point-blank range in the head outside a London nightclub.

The victim, 30, was shot with a converted starter pistol just below his eye while another bullet was lodged in his spine.

The victim spent eight days on a critical care ward and almost lost his sight in his right eye following the shooting in Bexleyheath, southeast London.

Two men who carried out the shooting were this week jailed for a total of 55 years following the shooting in January.

The near-fatal shooting had followed a minor altercation inside the nightclub on Bexleyheath Broadway, police said.

The victim’s group were attacked as they left the venue, resulting in one of the attackers being knocked unconscious.

Gunmen Marvin Bulle,33, and Carlos Parks, 35, returned to their car and were overheard on CCTV using a slang word for a firearm.

Footage showed Bulle reaching into the front passenger seat of the car, retrieving an item then making a gesture consistent with him cocking a gun.

As he walked back to the scene of the fight, Parks followed slowly in the car.

The man was shot outside a nightclub on Bexleyheath Broadway

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Bulle was seen shooting the firearm twice, at close range, towards the victim. A bullet struck him below the eye.

Detective Inspector Raymond Sekalongo, of the Met Police’s specialist Trident firearms unit, said: “This assault could so easily have resulted in the victim’s death. It is nothing short of a miracle that he survived."

The shooting was caught on a dash cam fitted in a London Ambulance Service response car, which had been flagged down to assist with the man who was knocked unconscious outside the nightclub.

Bulle ran to Parks’ car and the pair made off at speed. Parks quickly lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a lamppost 100 metres away.

They dumped the car and fled on foot.

Parks was arrested in Greenwich on 4 January, 14 hours after the shooting. Bulle fled to Suffolk then rural Essex, where he was arrested in Mistley on Wednesday, 14 January.

Both men were identified from CCTV. Initially, the gun could not be found – meaning there was no DNA linking Bulle to the weapon.

However, a converted starter pistol was later linked to the Bexleyheath shooting by the Met’s specialist forensics lab when it was recovered in Eltham in May during an unrelated investigation.

Bulle was found guilty of attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life at Woolwich Crown Court on August 7.

Parks was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life at the same court.

On Friday, Bulle was jailed for 35 years. His co-defendant, Parks, received 20 years’ imprisonment.

DI Sekalongo said: “Both these attackers are dangerous men, who thought nothing of taking a firearm out onto the streets of London. I am pleased they are now locked up for a significant period of time.

“This case shows the consequences of gun crime – and the Met’s commitment to bringing those who perpetrate serious violence in the capital to justice."