Two brothers from Croydon have been convicted of shooting a law student in the face with a shotgun during a drive-by attack in August last year.

Brothers Janiah Johnson-White, 25, and Jamal Johnson-White, 24, were both found guilty for their parts in the attack following a trial at Inner London Crown Court, which concluded today (Thursday, July 8).

The pair were found guilty of wounding with intent and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Jamal Johnson-White was also convicted of dangerous driving.

The violent episode, which targeted a 20-year-old law student in the borough, happened just after 1.30am on Saturday, August 1 last year.

While the young student was on his way home near West Croydon train station, he stopped to speak to people in the street.

The CPS described how a shotgun was fired out of a window in his direction, hitting him in the face and flooring him immediately.

It later emerged the victim had been struck by a number of shotgun pellets on his cheek, forehead and eye, leaving him with blurred vision and a bloodied face. He was rushed to hospital with a "possible life-changing" facial injury.

The CPS said that Janiah Johnson-White was the gunman in the passenger seat while his younger brother was the driver.

Your Local Guardian: Image via CPS showing aftermath of crash following the shootingImage via CPS showing aftermath of crash following the shooting

"After the shooting they sped away from the scene and crashed their stolen Astra into another car which had a family with a 10-year-old child inside. The impact of the crash meant the Astra’s airbags were activated.

"The brothers fled from the crash abandoning the stolen car. However, they accidentally left behind a change of clothes in the vehicle," a spokesperson for the prosecution service said.

The pair were arrested just days apart in November.

"An iPhone recovered from Janiah Johnson-White on the night of his arrest was found to contain drill music lyrics in his notes dated one day after the shooting on 2 August 2020. The lyrics read: 'I had 2 slap dat dots out da ride,'" the CPS said.

Both men are due to be sentenced on September 16.

Richard Partridge, from the CPS, said: "This was a random shooting that could have had devastating consequences for the victim. It is with sheer luck that this young man did not lose his vision.

"Janiah Johnson-White and Jamal Johnson-White were two brothers intent on violence. But they were caught out after their DNA was found on the airbags activated on the stolen car they crashed.

"During the trial these brothers claimed that they had been in another part of the country at the time of the shooting and that their clothes had been stolen from their home in a burglary – but the jury saw through these lies and convicted these men.

"Guns crime is a scourge on our communities and the CPS will always seek to work with the police to root out offenders and prosecute them where there is the evidence to do so."