On the heels of numerous death threats, Sasha Johnson is in critical condition after being shot in the head, her political party said in a statement. The young British activist was shot yesterday May 23.
“It is with great sadness that we inform you that our own Sasha Johnson has been brutally attacked and sustained a gun shot wound to her head,” Britain’s Taking the Initiative Party said in a Facebook post. “She is currently in intensive care and in a critical condition.”
According to the party, Johnson was attacked “following numerous death threats as a result of her activism.”
London’s Metropolitan Police also released a statement and said officers responded to reports of gunfire in southeast London around 3 a.m. local time on Sunday morning. Paramedics then transported a 27-year-old woman, who was identified bas Johnson to a south London hospital where she was treated for gunshot wounds. Police also said the shooting appeared to have happened near a house party in Southwark.
Johnson was a well-known Black Lives Matter advocate and rose to prominence after attending several protests, Revolt TV reports. She’s also the founder of the Taking the Initiative Party, which has been described as “Britain’s first Black-led political party.”
In a statement, Black Lives Matter UK said it would hold a vigil for Johnson on Monday (May 24) outside of King’s College Hospital. The organization hailed Johnson as a “young mother and fearless political campaigner who was at the forefront numerous BLM protests last summer.”
