Harrowing 999 call made after Aya Hachem was shot played in court

The recording, which lasted around 11 minutes, detailed the moments which passed immediately after Aya Hachem was hit by a bullet as she walked along King Street in Blackburn on May 17, 2020.

The call had been made by Pachah Khan, who the prosecution say was the intended target of a planned hit which had been ordered by the owner of RI Tyres, Feroz Suleman.

When the case was opened last week, the jury at Preston Crown Court heard how Aya had been ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’ when she was caught up in a feud between Suleman, who denies murder, and Mr Khan, who owns neighbouring business QuickShine Tyres.

On Thursday CCTV footage of the moment Aya was gunned down was played in court, followed by the 999 call made by Mr Khan, who was the first person to run over to Aya in a bid to help her.

He tells the police call operator there's been a shooting and 'a lady is injured really bad.'

The operator responds: 'Someone's shooting?'

Mr Khan says: 'Yeah, shooting a firearm down the main road.'

The dispatcher then asks for a description of the car the caller said the bullet was fired from.

He said: “It was a Silver Avensis.”

It is the prosecution’s case that hired hitman Zamir Raja had fired the fatal shot from the back of a Silver Avensis driven by Anthony Ennis. Both men also deny the murder of Aya Hachem and attempted murder of Pachah Khan.

Throughout the duration of the call various people speak to the dispatcher, including one man who gives details about Aya’s medical state.

In the recording he tells the dispatcher that he has placed her in the recovery position. He tells her that Aya is not responsive and she has a weak pulse.

Moments later, the dispatcher asks the man: “Does she still have a weak pulse?

“Very weak, if at all,” he responds.

He then tells her she has no pulse, just as an emergency first responder arrives at the scene.

The first responder checked Aya’s airway and found her not to be breathing. When he checked for a pulse, he did not find one, prosecutor Nicholas Johnson QC said.

While conducting checks on Aya, he found a small wound on her neck. He noted it was bleeding, but not heavily.

Further paramedics then arrived and began to perform CPR on Aya.

Mr Johnson QC said: “At this stage a scoop stretcher was used to move her into the back of the ambulance.”

The ambulance then left for Blackburn Hospital where six paramedics continued to work on Aya as they attempted to restart her heart.

At 3.43pm, the ambulance arrived at the hospital, where Aya was taken straight into A&E and attended to by the trauma team.

By this stage she had been receiving medical care for more than half an hour. Aya did not have a heartbeat at any point during the attempts to resuscitate her.

Despite the best efforts of all medics, Aya was pronounced dead at 3.52pm.

Eight people stand trial accused of the murder of Aya Hachem and the attempted murder of Pachah Khan.

They are Suleman, 40, of, Shear Brow, Zamir Raja, 33, of Stretford, Greater Manchester; Anthony Ennis, 31, of Partington, Greater Manchester; Kashif Manzoor, 26, of, Blackburn; Ayaz Hussain, 35, of Blackburn; Abubakr Satia, 32, of Blackburn; his brother Uthman Satia, 29, of Great Harwood; and Judy Chapman, 26, of Great Harwood.

Each defendant played an important role in the killing of Aya Hachem, the prosecution say.

The trial is expected to last around 10 weeks.

For a full recap of the opening, click here.

Proceeding.