Here’s a clear Quick Scoop on what happened in the Chris Kaba shooting and what’s come out since, including the trial and later revelations.

What happened in the Chris Kaba shooting?

The basic incident

  • Date: 5 September 2022.
  • Place: Kirkstall Gardens, Streatham Hill, south London.
  • Victim: Chris Le Messie Kaba, a 23–24‑year‑old Black man and aspiring rapper (often reported as 23 at the time; later coverage refers to him as 24).
  • Involved: Armed Metropolitan Police officers in unmarked and marked vehicles.

On the night of the shooting, Kaba was driving an Audi Q8 that had been flagged by automatic number plate recognition as being linked to a firearms incident in Brixton the previous day.

Police in an unmarked car followed him without sirens or lights until he turned into Kirkstall Gardens, where another armed response vehicle was waiting and used its car to block the Audi.

Witnesses and official accounts say police vehicles boxed the Audi in, officers got out on foot, and gave repeated commands for Kaba to get out of the car. Kaba instead drove his car into an unmarked police vehicle in front and also hit a police car behind in what officers believed was an attempt to ram his way out.

One armed officer (later identified as Sgt/PC Martyn Blake) fired a single shot through the front windscreen of the Audi, hitting Kaba in the head. Kaba was taken to hospital and was pronounced dead just after midnight, in the early hours of the next day.

It was later confirmed that Kaba was unarmed at the time of the shooting.

Why were police after the car?

Key context is that the Audi Q8 was believed to be linked to a recent firearms incident:

  • The car had been connected to a shooting in Brixton the day before, according to police intelligence and court coverage.
  • An ANPR system flagged the vehicle to armed officers, but they did not initially know that Chris Kaba specifically was the driver.

This meant officers were treating the stop as a high‑risk firearms‑related operation, which shaped how they boxed the car in and approached with weapons drawn.

What happened legally – investigation, charge, and trial

Investigation and charge

  • The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) opened a homicide investigation shortly after the shooting.
  • The officer who fired the shot was suspended and identified publicly by the time of the court process as Martyn (or Sgt/PC) Blake.
  • In 2023–2024 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided to charge Blake with murder, leading to a highly watched trial at the Old Bailey in October 2024.

The officer’s account in court

Blake told the jury that:

  • He aimed at the “central mass” of Kaba’s body, not specifically at his head, and said he did not intend to kill him.
  • He believed the car was being used as a weapon and that a fellow officer was in imminent danger as Kaba tried to ram his way out of the police box‑in.

Prosecutors pushed back, arguing that at the moment of the shot the vehicle was not being driven directly at Blake at high speed and that a shot into the car’s central body area was almost certain to risk death.

Verdict

  • The trial ended in a not guilty verdict on the murder charge in late 2024.
  • The decision sparked renewed debate about police accountability, race, and the use of lethal force in the UK.

Later revelations about Chris Kaba’s background

After the trial and once reporting restrictions were lifted, more details about Kaba’s past became public, which changed some of the public framing but not the basic facts of the shooting itself.

Gang links and rap career

  • Kaba was known as a drill rapper under names such as Madix or Mad Itch and had links to the south London group “67,” often described by media as a gang and music collective.
  • He had earlier convictions, including affray and possession of an imitation firearm from his teenage years, which could not be fully reported until later.

Oval Space nightclub shooting

Several outlets reported that days before he died, Kaba was involved in a serious shooting:

  • On 30 August 2022, CCTV from the Oval Space nightclub in Hackney showed Kaba shooting a rival on a crowded dancefloor, hitting the man in the leg.
  • He then followed the injured man outside and shot him again, wounding the other leg; the victim survived after being airlifted to hospital.
  • By the time details were made public in 2024, Kaba had been facing an attempted‑murder case in relation to that attack; others involved had already been convicted and jailed for long terms.

These revelations fed a big online and media argument: some said they showed why police had strong intelligence concerns around him; others argued they were being used post‑facto to justify the killing of an unarmed man who, at that moment, did not have a gun.

Public reaction and ongoing debate

The shooting rapidly became a major UK flashpoint about policing, race, and the use of force:

  • Protests and vigils took place in London and other cities, with comparisons to other high‑profile police shootings of Black men.
  • Kaba’s family said their lives became “meaningless” after his death and campaigned heavily for criminal charges and transparency, insisting they wanted “justice, not revenge.”
  • Many officers were angered that Blake was charged at all, seeing it as criminalising a split‑second operational decision in a dangerous situation.
  • Commentators remain divided: some portray Kaba as a martyr for police reform, others say his gang and firearms background shows the extreme risk officers believed they faced.

This mix of facts and interpretations is why online forums and social media still frequently argue about “what really happened” in the Chris Kaba shooting, even after the trial and verdict.

At a glance – key facts (HTML table)

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Item Details
Date & place 5 Sept 2022, Kirkstall Gardens, Streatham Hill, London.
Who was shot Chris Kaba, 23–24‑year‑old Black man and aspiring drill rapper.
Vehicle Audi Q8 linked by ANPR to a previous firearms incident in Brixton.
Police actions Unmarked car followed; marked armed unit blocked him; vehicles boxed him in; officers approached on foot.
Immediate lead-up Kaba rammed the police vehicle in front and hit one behind while trying to escape, ignoring commands to exit the car.
Shot fired One armed officer (Martyn Blake) fired a single shot through the windscreen, hitting Kaba in the head.
Weapon on Kaba No firearm found on Kaba at the time of the stop; he was unarmed.
Death Pronounced dead in hospital shortly after midnight; cause: single gunshot wound to the head.
Legal outcome Officer Blake charged with murder, tried in Oct 2024, found not guilty.
Background revealed later CCTV showed Kaba shooting a rival in a nightclub days before; he faced attempted‑murder charges; links to gang/rap group 67.
Broader impact Triggered protests, political debate over race and policing, and tension between the Met and both public and rank‑and‑file officers.
**TL;DR:** Chris Kaba was driving a car linked to a recent shooting when armed police boxed him in; as he tried to ram his way out, an officer fired once through the windscreen, killing him. He was unarmed, the officer was later tried for murder and acquitted, and later reporting showed Kaba had recently shot a rival in a nightclub, fueling a fierce ongoing argument over police force, gang violence, and justice in the UK.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.