A shopper in north London fought off an armed assailant, preventing an attempted shooting by grappling with the gunman inside a convenience store. The incident, captured on CCTV and occurring in March, involved Mustafa Bolat, 29, firing three shots at shopper Ali Unlu at the WG Express store in Wood Green.

Mustafa Bolat pointed a pistol at Ali Unlu and fired, but Unlu reacted swiftly, pushing up Bolat's arm to divert the shots. The struggle continued, with the two men falling into refrigerated cabinets and onto boxes of fruit. During the altercation, one shot was fired with the gun barrel mere inches from Unlu's head.

Following the struggle, Bolat calmly exited the shop, with Unlu throwing a bottle at him. The incident triggered multiple emergency calls reporting a shooting.

Bolat admitted to possessing a firearm with the intent to cause fear of violence. However, he was acquitted by an Old Bailey jury of attempted murder and possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life. He maintained that his intention was to scare Mr. Unlu, not to kill him.

"I am not a monster, I am not an angel, I make mistakes like everyone else," Bolat told jurors. "I was stupid to commit a serious crime. I am not discrediting the crime I have committed, I am just making sure the jury is aware that I am not a killer."

Both Mr. Unlu and Bolat, who are reportedly of Turkish heritage, have declined to cooperate with police, leaving the motive for the shooting attempt unclear. The Wood Green area is known to be associated with Turkish gangland activity.

Mustafa Bolat, the gunman, is shown in this still from the CCTV footage.

Prosecutors had alleged that Bolat attempted to kill Ali Unlu by shooting at him. Mr. Unlu reportedly did not provide a witness statement to the police.

Bolat has a prior conviction for grievous bodily harm from a knife attack in 2017, where he brandished a kitchen knife through a car window, causing injuries to the other driver. "So you are somebody who is capable of using a weapon," the prosecutor stated during cross-examination.

Bolat, who resides in Tottenham, pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, and possession of ammunition with intent to endanger life. He did admit to possession of a firearm to cause fear of violence.

The aftermath of the struggle shows fruit scattered across the floor of the store.

He was remanded in custody pending sentencing on November 13.