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Innocent father-of-one, 27, had leg torn off when father and son crushed him with Range Rover over mistaken identity
Innocent father-of-one, 27, had leg torn off when father and son crushed him with Range Rover over mistaken identity

Daily Mail​

time01-07-2025

  • Daily Mail​

Innocent father-of-one, 27, had leg torn off when father and son crushed him with Range Rover over mistaken identity

An innocent father-of-one had his leg torn off when he was mown down by a Range Rover in a revenge attack by a father and son in a case of mistaken identity. Sean Wootten, 27, came out of his house in Etches Close in Bournemouth, Dorset, on October 7 last year, when he heard a commotion caused by Vinny Morgan, 21, and his father Conrad, 55. The violent pair were after his neighbour who they claimed had damaged their property. Mr Wootten stepped into the darkened street wearing a hoodie, and the pair misidentified him as his neighbour, a court heard. Vinny Morgan then drove towards him in the 4x4 with his father in the passenger seat. Mr Wootten jumped out of the way of the oncoming vehicle, but Vinny Morgan simply reversed the Range Rover and drove at him a second time. After hitting him, Mr Wootten was pinnned up against a garden wall by the vehicle and left screaming in agony. Witnesses and medics found him with his left leg 'more or less' amputated above the knee, and with a piece of the Range Rover's wheel trim embedded in his leg. A critical care doctor had to remove the limb at the scene before the 27-year-old was flown to hospital and kept in a coma in intensive care. He is now in a wheelchair and has had to give up his job as a mechanic. Hours later the Morgans' home was targeted in a revenge 'fire bomb' attack. They called the police but were instead arrested for the hit-and-run on Mr Wootten. Vinny Morgan has now been jailed for 13 years and six months for grievous bodily harm, having been previously cleared of attempted murder. His 55-year-old father was found guilty of conspiracy to commit affray and sentenced to nine months in prison, which he has already served while on remand awaiting trial. Bournemouth Crown Court heard the Morgans had been looking for neighbour Joshua Lovell after blaming him for damaging Vinny Morgan's Suzuki Vitara car. Just before they turnd up Mr Lovell had parked a Range Rover with the engine running in Etches Close. The Morgans attacked him with metal bats, prompting Mr Lovell to run off and Vinny Morgan to drive after him in the Range Rover. Sean Wilken KC, prosecuting, told a previous hearing at Bournemouth Crown Court: 'Sean Wootten had heard the noises of the fracas going on. He had been in a flat with his girlfriend Tara Redpath. 'He went to see what was happening. His timing was terrible because he was about to cross the road just as Vinny Morgan drove back into Etches Close in the Range Rover. 'He came flying around the corner driving straight for Sean Wootten. He made no effort to slow down or avoid him. Mr Wootten had to jump out of the way and he managed to avoid being hit. 'However, his luck was to run out. Mr Wootten knew Joshua Lovell and thinking it was him driving the Range Rover he shouted out, "Josh it's me" to try and get the Range Rover to stop. 'He couldn't see who was driving because of the headlights. 'Mr Wootten managed to make it to the pavement and thought he was safe. But Vinny Morgan had other plans. 'Having just missed him he reversed the Range Rover back and accelerated the short distance to where Mr Wootten was now standing. He made a deliberate decision to drive straight at him. 'CCTV captured the screams of cries as it happened. One of his legs was more or less amputated by the impact of the Range Rover.' Mr Wilken said a police officer described that he saw the left leg torn above the knee, bones could be seen and his leg had been all but amputated. He added: 'Medical treatment [was given] at the scene and [the] doctor decided to amputate. Part of the wheel trim was embedded in what remains of Mr Wootten's leg.' In his victim impact statement Mr Wootten said his life had been ruined. He said: 'I can no longer do simple things with my family that I took for granted. 'I don't like going out in public because people stare at me and you never know what is going to happen. I break down in tears most days. 'I get flashbacks all the time, I see the car coming at me and relive the moment. I lost control of my life, I lost everything that day.' The court also heard a statement from his partner Tara Redpath, who described running down the stairs holding her daughter, to find him sat 'in a pool of his own blood'. She said: 'Every time I close my eyes, or see a Range Rover, I relive it over and over again. I see Sean sat there looking at his leg. I can constantly hear his scream, a scream I had never heard before that night.' Paul Walker, representing Vinny Morgan, said his client had made good use of his time in prison with real prospects for employment when released. He added: 'I urge your honour to give this man some light at the end of what will be a lengthy custodial tunnel.' But Judge William Mousley KC did not accept Morgan had shown remorse. He said Morgan had tried to claim Mr Wootten was armed and threatened him with a dangerous weapon with 'not a hint of any kind of regret if this was a case of mistaken identity'. Judge Mousley said: 'You decided to go looking for a man called Joshua Lovell, and any associates he may have with him, to attack and injure him. 'There was bad feeling between you. You had unwanted visitors at your address previously and damage had been caused. 'Sean Wootten heard a noise from the street and it concerned him sufficiently he thought he ought to investigate. 'He was unarmed but had his hood up, which meant he was not immediately recognisable. 'I am sure that you intended at least to scare him and possibly hit him at that point. Whether that was because you thought he had something to do with Joshua Lovell's behaviour, it is not entirely clear whether you knew who your target was.' He said Mr Wootten was 'entirely innocent'. Vinny Morgan was found guilty of GBH, conspiracy to commit affray and possession of an offensive weapon in public. Conrad Morgan, a builder, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit affray and possession of an offensive weapon in public and sentenced to nine months in prison.

I gunned down Jean Charles de Menezes – then was told we'd got wrong man…it was worst moment, says cop in ONLY interview
I gunned down Jean Charles de Menezes – then was told we'd got wrong man…it was worst moment, says cop in ONLY interview

The Sun

time01-07-2025

  • The Sun

I gunned down Jean Charles de Menezes – then was told we'd got wrong man…it was worst moment, says cop in ONLY interview

IT'S almost 20 years since electrician Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead on a packed London Tube carriage in a tragic case of mistaken identity. The capital was on high alert as four suicide bombers were on the run after a failed attack on the transport system the day before, which saw police and MI5 launch the biggest manhunt of modern times. 12 12 12 12 A terrible error led to armed police officers following Brazilian Jean Charles, 27, onto the London Underground at Stockwell, south London on the morning of July 22, 2005. Two of them – codenamed C2 and C12 - killed him with seven bullets to the head. Now C2, who fired five shots, has spoken out for the first time to apologise to his family - admitting he wishes he could turn back the clock. He tells a Netflix documentary which drops today: "I would say to Jean Charles' family I'm sorry, that I and another officer were put in a position where we killed your son. "I would do anything to roll back time, to have a different set of circumstances where that didn't happen. That should not have happened.' In the four-part series - Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 bombers - C2 appears with his face hidden under a baseball cap and a hoodie. He says: 'I have never spoken about this publicly. This will probably be the only time that I will talk about it, rather than take it to my grave.' A third firearms officer, Charlie 5, witnessed the killing, and two decades later the events of that fateful morning are burnt into his subconscious. Just two weeks after four suicide bombers killed 52 commuters and wounded more 700 others on July 7, four terrorists planned to carry out copy-cat bombings on three tube trains and a bus. But the 21/7 bombers failed to detonate their devices because the hydrogen peroxide mixture they had used as explosive was too weak. Instead the would-be bombers dumped their backpacks and fled. A gym membership card left in one of the backpacks led cops to one suspect, Hussein Osman. Anti-terrorist police and specialist firearms officers quickly had the block of flats in Scotia Road, Tulse Hill under surveillance. Jean Charles de Menezes, 27, also lived there. 'Critical shot' 12 12 12 Police marksman C5, who by then had been on the firearms squad for nearly 10 years, recalls: 'We were told, 'Today you may be called upon to use unusual tactics.' 'I think someone said, 'What do you mean, like critical shot?' 'And he said, 'All I'll say is don't question anything you're told because you will not have the full picture.' 'They gave us already-loaded fresh magazines with hollow-point ammunition. 'We were told that some of the devices could be small, like a suicide vest. It could be a belt with a bomb in it. It could be a coffee jar size that could go in a pocket. 'When we left there, we were under no illusion how dangerous these bombers were. I have never spoken about this publicly. This will probably be the only time that I will talk about it, rather than take it to my grave C2 'We were told they were highly motivated, determined and deadly. We were also told we would only be used if one of the subjects was identified as one of the bombers.' He adds: 'For whatever reason, there had been some sort of cock up in the OP [Operational Support] van. 'Normally they would have had a good opportunity to take a photograph and could have said there and then if it was or wasn't him.' The other problem was that instructions had to come from a control room at Scotland Yard, instead of the unit's own commanders at SO19 – which led to long delays. 'Edgy' On the morning of July 22, Jean Charles de Menezes was followed from his home as he boarded a bus to Brixton, where he got off, and then got back on again because the Underground station was closed. To police surveillance teams he appeared to be acting suspiciously. He then got off at Stockwell Station, which had been the suicide bombers' point of entry to the Tube network the previous day. C5 tells The Sun: 'It was looking more and more likely this was the subject. Over the radio he was described as edgy. 'In my head I kept thinking, it's escalating. At some point I felt we would have to intervene. 'Then, of course, we got those immortal words, 'He must not be allowed to get on that Tube under any circumstances'. In my head I kept thinking, it's escalating. At some point I felt we would have to intervene. Then, of course, we got those immortal words, 'He must not be allowed to get on that Tube under any circumstances' C5 'We were deployed. As far as we were concerned, it was a positive ID. 'I remember going down the Tube, down the escalators, thinking, we're going to be too late, and the train's going to go in the tunnel, and I'm going to see a big flash, a big explosion.' C2 remembers: 'He's a minute, maybe two minutes ahead of me. So I had to run. 'I'm thinking I cannot believe that we have allowed this situation to develop. 'We've allowed someone we believe is a suicide bomber into the tube network. To have a device on him. To initiate that device. 'My only way in was to leap over the barrier. I remember chasing down the escalator. I pulled my weapon and I put it behind my back. Charlie 5 says: 'It was a nightmare scenario because we all knew we'd lose radio comms. 'C2 and C12 were in front of me. We were not shouting 'Armed police'.' Charlie 5 admits: 'I've been involved in quite a few shooting incidents but nothing like this. 'It was one of those days where you had to step into the arena, deal with what was in front of you and do what needed to be done.' 'Numb' The underground carriage was still standing at the platform. C5 entered through the single door at the end. He says: 'At the inquest there was only about 17 people shown in the carriage at the time but it was absolutely jam-packed. 'It had been sitting on the platform for probably four or five minutes, and people just kept getting on. 'I remember having to push my way through people moving through the carriage trying to identify the suspect, looking, where is he? 'As I got to the doors my two colleagues were there, so I knew I was in the right carriage. I was aware of someone standing up to the left.' Shots rang out. C2 says: 'A surveillance officer already in the carriage indicated who the subject was. 'I was convinced we were about to die. I fired and so did my colleague Charlie 12, and I kept firing until I was absolutely certain there was no further threat. 'I could not believe what had just happened. To be frank I was numb with shock because of the horror of what had occurred. 'There was a relief that we were still standing and we had stopped an attack.' I was convinced we were about to die. I fired and so did my colleague Charlie 12, and I kept firing until I was absolutely certain there was no further threat C2 C5 adds: 'When the gunshot rang out my first thought was, we were going to blow up. This is it, there's an explosion, we're going to die. 'Then, a fraction of a second later, I thought, we're still here. It was a strange feeling. I felt kind of euphoric. It was weird, this adrenaline feeling of like, we have survived. 'But there was no celebration or anything. We knew we had taken a life. It's a horrible thing. 'I felt for both the officers, C2 and C12, what they had to do. 'In that time, everybody was running off the Tube in mass panic, they were running and leaving their phones. 'We felt we were going on war footing from the bombings. We were under attack. And, you know, I think everyone else did as well. 'People had a heightened sense of what was going on around them. Could there be another bombing and could they be victims of it?' 'Something was not right' C2 was taken away from the scene in an unmarked police car, while C5 volunteered to stay to help an explosives officer in plain clothes check the body for bombs. Charlie 5 remembers: 'There were no devices. We laid him on the ground so I could check for vital signs. 'He found a wallet and it had ID in it. The name on the ID was Jean Charles de Menezes. 'It wasn't the name of the subject, so along with the fact that he didn't have a device on him things just didn't seem to add up for me at that time. 'I didn't want to say this to anybody because I didn't want to start rumours, but in the back of my mind I started to feel something was not right.' C2 says: 'By the time I'd got home I was aware there was speculation regarding the identity of the person I had killed. I didn't get any sleep, and I still had massive tinnitus, a very, very loud ringing in my ears. "Next day I caught the Tube back to work and I was called into the chief superintendent's office. He told me that the man I shot was completely innocent. 'I can't describe how I felt, it was the worst feeling ever. I killed an innocent man and I now know who that man is. I can't describe how I felt, it was the worst feeling ever. I killed an innocent man and I now know who that man is C2 "I am responsible, and I accept responsibility. As a firearms officer ultimately the decision to use force is yours. "But why were we in that position? Those people in command put me in that position, they also have to answer." The Crown Prosecution Service decided not to charge either C12 or C2 with any offence and they returned to duty. C5, who retired from the police in 2013, says: 'Twenty years on I think about this frequently. It's always in the news somewhere. It is burnt into my subconscious. 'I don't think I have PTSD over it. I was a seasoned firearms officer. My training experience part-prepared me for mentally dealing with things. 'It has taken a lot of processing over the years. I think people forget, we're family men and we're trying to protect the public, not harm them.' The Metropolitan Police made changes in the wake of the tragic shooting at Stockwell. C5 says: 'There's a lot more fail-safe put in place in identifying suspects and communications have improved. 'Could it happen again? 'There's always a human element of errors so yes, it's possible, but hopefully not with all the fail-safe they have now.' Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 bombers is on Netflix from July 1. 12 12 12 12

Tottenham shooting: Family seeks truth in 'mistaken identity' case
Tottenham shooting: Family seeks truth in 'mistaken identity' case

BBC News

time20-06-2025

  • BBC News

Tottenham shooting: Family seeks truth in 'mistaken identity' case

Three months after Mahad Abdi Mohamed was shot dead in north London, damage caused by the bullet that killed him is still visible in the glass next to a block of believe he was killed in a case of mistaken identity. Mr Abdi Mohamed's family and friends broke down as they visited Northumberland Park in Tottenham for the first time since his came here to appeal for help in catching his killers."My sweet Mahad was the kind of person who could light up any room," said his sister Amal in an emotional tribute to her brother at the scene. "My mum has to wake up every day knowing that her only son is gone. That's something no mother should have to endure." Mr Abdi Mohamed was found with a gunshot wound to the head when police and the London Ambulance Service responded to reports of a shooting on Waverley Road, Tottenham, at about 20:45 GMT on Thursday, 20 man, aged 26, was also shot in the leg but Ch Insp Becky Woodsford from the Metropolitan Police is leading the investigation. She believes Mr Abdi Mohamed was not the intended victim."Mahad was here visiting a friend, he was breaking his fast during Ramadan and at this time we've got no evidence at all to suggest that it's anything other than a tragic case of mistaken identity," she said. A number of arrests have been made, but police are still appealing for witnesses."We know this was a pre-planned shooting," said Det Ch Insp Woodsford."The people responsible were out to kill somebody that night or cause serious harm."I believe that people will know who is responsible. But we need evidence to place this case before the Crown Prosecution Service and the courts."Mahad was a much-loved father, brother and son, his family are absolutely devastated. We want to get justice for Mahad and his family." Mr Abdi Mohamed, from Enfield, worked at the railway station and had a second job at evenings and weekends working as security at events at the nearby Tottenham Hotspur 27-year-old was saving to get married this summer to the mother of his five-year-old son, who lives in mother Zahra Ali Seef said he had not visited this estate in years, but had come to visit a friend and eat dessert with him after Isha prayer during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in broke down in tears as she spoke in Somali through a community interpreter about her "kind, generous son".She asked for help in getting justice for him. Mr Abdi Mohamed's sister Amal, 23, who is nine months pregnant, plans to call her baby Mahad after the uncle he will never meet."My brother deserved better. He deserves justice," she said."He was a good man and he was deeply loved, and he truly mattered. "So please help us make sure his story doesn't end in silence. Please let our family grieve with the truth and not a mystery."

Man hit with £8,000 energy bill in case of 'mistaken identity' - thanks to his extremely common name
Man hit with £8,000 energy bill in case of 'mistaken identity' - thanks to his extremely common name

Daily Mail​

time03-06-2025

  • Business
  • Daily Mail​

Man hit with £8,000 energy bill in case of 'mistaken identity' - thanks to his extremely common name

A man hit with an £8,500 energy bill for an address he never lived at claims it was a case of mistaken identity due to his extremely common name. Iain Smith, 35, was contacted by OVO Energy telling him he needed to foot the staggering £7654.77 bill for electric last October. But Iain says he was living with friends for the period the bill covers and had never lived at the address in question. He noticed the credit report listed an 'Ian Smith', spelt differently to Iain and a different bank account to his own. Determined to get the bill scrapped - which has now risen to £8569.21 - Iain complained to OVO but after failing to get it resolved he decided to go to the Energy Ombudsman. The Ombudsman informed him he wasn't liable for the cost and despite an appeal from OVO the decision was upheld and the energy have been ordered to scrap the charge. To date, Iain claims this hasn't been done, and the bill continues to rise. An OVO spokesperson said he has been removed from the account. Iain, a security officer from Leicester, said: 'It has been very distressing - to get an email saying I owed nearly £8,000 was a bit of a shock. 'It's affected my work - I need to have a clear head for my job. To have this all on top of it, they're treating me like scum, really. 'To me, they are thieves, trying to steal money from me. 'I have no connection to this address whatsoever. I didn't have my own property until January this year.' Because he had no fixed address at the time, Iain struggled to provide evidence supporting the fact he didn't live at the address. He said: 'They were adamant I had to pay it. At the time they were sending these emails, I was homeless. 'I contacted them and told them I couldn't provide evidence of where I lived as I was on the streets. 'It was clear to the Energy Ombudsman that something had gone wrong and that I wasn't at that property. 'I have never had a Barclay's credit account, and that's what they had linked on the credit report. 'It was a different Mr Smith, different age, and completely different address. 'You could see the name on the credit report. I'm Iain, and he's Ian, but he has different spellings and middle names.' After the Ombudsman ultimately ruled in Iain's favour, they asked OVO to remove the charge. But Iain claims this hasn't been done. He said: 'OVO appealed and lost. 'The decision was then upheld and became legally binding. 'They were told to remove my name from the account, pay me £200 compensation, send a letter of apology, and remove any markers on my account. 'They were given 28 days to do that and they haven't. I'm shocked that they are treating the public like this. 'Throughout the investigation, they would not stop contacting me for the money, and the debt rose. 'It's now gone silent - the account is still in my name; they haven't removed it.' Iain has now asked the Ombudsman to escalate his case to Ofgem and believes this sort of thing can be avoided with more stringent checks. He added: 'There's a massive issue here. When you set up an electric account, you don't have to prove who you are. No ID required. 'It's an oversight - it opens the floodgates for fraud.' An OVO spokesperson said: 'We can confirm Mr Smith has been removed from the account and have sent a goodwill gesture to apologise for the experience.'

Woman in LinkedIn post about meeting Piyush Gupta says her social media manager made up the story and demanded S$5K to take it down
Woman in LinkedIn post about meeting Piyush Gupta says her social media manager made up the story and demanded S$5K to take it down

Independent Singapore

time26-05-2025

  • Business
  • Independent Singapore

Woman in LinkedIn post about meeting Piyush Gupta says her social media manager made up the story and demanded S$5K to take it down

SINGAPORE: A woman received a lot of attention after her May 20 LinkedIn post raving about a chance encounter with Piyush Gupta went viral , only for the former CEO of DBS Bank to chime in that it had been a case of mistaken identity. 'Sorry to disillusion you. That isn't me!' he wrote, referring to a photo that Janney Hujic, the founder of Impact-Driven Retreats & Expeditions, had put up. The following day, the man who had actually been in the photo, a 58-year-old Singaporean named Kumar H Subramaniam, set the record straight in comments on a Facebook post from Wake Up, Singapore. On May 22, a message from Ms Hujic's team was posted in the comments to say that she was on an expedition in Vietnam but would tell her side of the story when she returned. She spoke to 8World News, which on May 24 reported Ms Hujic as saying that her social media manager in the Philippines had put up the viral post without permission to generate traffic. The social media manager allegedly asked Ms Hujic for S$5,000 in return for taking down the post after changing the password so Ms Hujic would lose access to it. A screenshot of the alleged messages from the social media manager was shown on the 8World News report. One part says, 'Post has over 6k engagement. Pay me 5k SGD and I take down… When I get paid, I give you back access.' The infamous LinkedIn post was taken down on May 23, with Ms Hujic's partner allegedly paying the amount demanded. Ms Hujic said that she had hired her social media manager, who was supposed to receive S$1 for every like on LinkedIn and Instagram posts, in March. She added that she knew the man she took a photo with had not been Mr Gupta, but she shared it on a group chat with friends and on an Instagram post merely as a joke. The LinkedIn post was put up after she left for her Vietnam trip on May 19, and she did not realize what had happened until May 24. On another note, the post said that Ms Hujic had told 'Mr Gupta' about her upcoming all-women expedition in Mongolia to support the Goh Chok Tong Enable Fund. The fund wrote in another LinkedIn post that Ms Hujic and her company were not SG Enable's authorised fundraising partners, and it had not endorsed their fundraising campaign. Commenters have had a field day with the story, with some expressing doubts and raising questions about why Ms Hujic would need a social media manager to begin with, if they were really paid the rate she quoted, and whether she's not just doing damage control at this point. 'No one pays a social media manager a dollar per like,' one observed. 'The hole she digs gets deeper and deeper,' wrote another. 'Maybe the social media manager would come out and say, 'That manager is not me!'' quipped a Facebook user. Nevertheless, others pointed out that she's certainly increased her profile, with one writing, 'Good or bad, she sure has gotten tons of publicity on her now.' Others wondered why her partner, who had not been on the Vietnam trip with Ms Hujic, did not release a statement to clarify the matter, but instead chose to quietly pay the social media manager. 'Also, never heard of this feature called 'reset password' where they can use your registered email or your registered phone number to reset your password yourself? Or is it the social media manager also got access to her email and phone?' one added. A Reddit user called the whole saga 'The LinkedIn version of 'my dog did it'.' 'Just say sorry,' another suggested, while one wrote, 'This is getting more pathetic by the minute… just cut your losses, bide your time, and hope that in five to 10 years people mostly forget about it.' /TISG Read also: 'Real-world deepfake' — Woman thrilled at 'chance encounter' with ex-DBS chief Piyush Gupta, but turns out it isn't him

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