Man Arrested After Drive-By Shooting in London at Funeral of Colombian Money Launderer’s Wife and Daughter

A police officer guards the scene of a shooting outside St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Church in Euston, central London, on Jan. 15, 2023. (PA)

A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a drive-by shooting outside a church that almost killed a 7-year-old girl and injured four women.

It has emerged the two women whose lives were being commemorated at a requiem mass were the wife and daughter of a Colombian who was jailed in 2009 for laundering money for a Colombian drugs gang.

A 22-year-old man was arrested in Barnet, north London, on Sunday afternoon and is in custody, where he is being questioned about the shooting.

Police and ambulance crews raced to the scene outside St. Aloysius Church—which serves the Roman Catholic community in the Somers Town estate, near Euston station—after reports of shots being fired on Saturday afternoon.

A 7-year-old girl, who has not been named, was taken to hospital with injuries which were life-threatening but she is now said to be in a stable condition.

Father Jeremy Trood, who led the service, said it had been a requiem mass for Fresia Calderon, 50, and her 20-year-old daughter Sara Sanchez, 20, who both died in November.

Sanchez had suffered from leukaemia since she was a child and her mother died from an embolism only minutes after landing at Heathrow Airport after the pair returned from Colombia.

In 2009 Carlos Sanchez-Coronado, then 43, was jailed for five-and-a-half years after admitting three charges related to money laundering and possession of counterfeit documents.

It is unclear if Sanchez-Coronado stayed in London along with his wife and daughter after his release from prison.

Sanchez-Coronado had been laundering money for a gang which was led by Jesus Anibal Ruiz-Henao, 45, who was jailed for 19 years in 2006 for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and money laundering offences.

Raids by the Serious and Organised Crime Agency—which was replaced by the National Crime Agency in 2013—in northwest London recovered millions of pounds and £100 million worth of cocaine and cannabis.

Ruiz-Henao—who originally bought cocaine from the Valle del Norte Cartel and smuggled it into Britain—was so successful and his market share so huge that when his organisation was smashed in 2004, the price of the drug in the UK reportedly jumped by 50 percent.

‘It Could Be a Revenge Hit’

Ron Chepesiuk, the author of “The Real Mr Big: How a Colombian Refugee Became the United Kingdom’s Most Notorious Cocaine Kingpin,” said it was possible the shooting was a “revenge hit” by someone who felt Sanchez-Coronado had got away with some money.

Chepesiuk told The Epoch Times, “It could be a revenge hit going way back into the past because the Colombians are known for for being vengeful and for having long memories.”

He said Ruiz-Henao spent 17 years in jail in Britain and now lives in Colombia, but he said he was not a wealthy man and was no longer involved in the drugs trade.

Chepesiuk said he had visited Ruiz-Henao in Colombia and he said: “He said that he never killed anybody and I couldn’t find anybody that he killed. You know, he never carried a gun ... so he has really nothing to do with it. I doubt whether he even made contact with Sanchez-Coronado at all when he was in jail.”

Chepesiuk said Saturday’s shooting was a “shocking” crime.

Jaouida Ifghallal, who was at the funeral, told MyLondon: “It was a lovely service in the church for Fresia and her daughter. Fresia died of pulmonary embolism on her way back to Colombia. Sara died of broken heart and leukaemia. When the service finished, we were outside to see the flying of doves. A black car came and started to shoot bullets. It was chaotic.”

The Metropolitan Police said a gunman fired at the crowd of mourners from a black Toyota C-HR before speeding away from the scene.

Police officers at the scene of a shooting in Euston, central London, on Jan. 14, 2023. (PA)

In 2004 Sanchez-Coronado had fled to his native Colombia, where he kept a low profile and worked as a taxi driver.

But in May 2008 he was caught and finally extradited, on the basis of a treaty between Britain and Colombia that dates from 1889.

When Sanchez-Coronado appeared in court for sentencing in 2009, his barrister, Mark Sahu, said his client had been using the money he earned from the cartel to help his sick daughter in Colombia.

That daughter was Sara Sanchez, who lost her fight against leukaemia two months ago.

Four women aged 21, 41, 48, and 54 were taken to hospital with injuries which were described as not life-threatening.

But the 48-year-old has potentially “life-changing” injuries.

A 12-year-old girl who was shot in the leg is expected to make a full recovery.

The leader of the opposition Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer, in whose constituency the shooting took place, told LBC: “I am concerned about, that people have access to guns that they shouldn’t have access to. Now, if it’s illegal access, obviously, that’s a pure matter of the criminal law. But other people, where better checks should be taken over circulation of guns ... so I think that we need to look again as to whether those laws are strong enough. That may or may not help this particular case.”

PA Media contributed to this report.