05 April 2023 , 20:32
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A couple lured a victim to Sainsbury's in a "honeytrap" meeting before gunning him down and leaving him paralysed.
Daniel Gaudin, 23, fired 10 shots during a broad daylight attack in Morden, south London.
He did not know his victim, who is now 26, but became aware of him after being sent a video of his girlfriend Shannon Rule engaging in sexual activity with other men.
Gaudin spent three or four days plotting his attack, with Rule agreeing to lure the victim to a meeting outside a Sainsbury's supermarket.
The man had hidden himself a short distance away and opened fire, causing life-changing injuries, reports MyLondon.
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Both Rule and Gaudin have been jailed at Kingston Crown Court for a combined total of 57 years.
The court heard Rule had sent a video of herself performing intimate acts with other men to the victim - but it is not clear why, or what the relationship was.
In turn, the victim sent the video onwards to Gaudin, who thought at the time he was Rule's only partner, the court was told.
Shannon Rule lured the man to meet her in Morden (MET POLICE)Between June 19, 2021 and the day of the attack on June 22, text messages between the couple revealed Gaudin's "extreme unhappiness" as he pressed Rule for details about the victim, such as his photograph and home address.
Judge Peter Lodder KC summarised: "Over the following days, it is clear that you, Shannon Rule, were very worried you would lose Gaudin as a boyfriend, and you were prepared to go to any lengths to maintain the relationship."
In text messages, Gaudin said he wanted to kill the victim or "shoot and stab his arse", the court heard.
Rule set up a meeting with the victim shortly after 12.30pm on June 22, with him believing that he was meeting her alone to discuss the situation.
The couple ordered a taxi and travelled for an hour and a half from Chingford to Morden, with Gaudin resting the large gun against his legs.
CCTV from the Sainsbury's car park showed him walking to his hiding place, while Rule went to stand on the pavement to await the victim.
In the moments before he appeared, the judge noted that women with their two small children were in the vicinity, as well as shoppers and other residents.
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Judge Lodder said: "With complete disregard to all others in the area, you fired those 10 shots. In the early afternoon with shops on one side of the road, homes on the other. Motorists were astonished, so brazen was it that some even thought it was a prank."
Gaudin then left the scene and disposed of the gun, his mobile phone and his clothes in an alleyway behind a set of garages.
He then re-emerged onto Central Road and was filmed by vigilant members of the public. He and Rule were later arrested.
The victim suffered damage to his intestines as well as a collapsed lung and a graze to his heart.
Since the attack, he has been left paralysed from the waist down and is wheelchair-bound, with his mum forced to give up her job to be his primary carer.
He is unable to wash his upper back, is unable to stand without supporting his weight on a frame and continues to suffer daily leg spasms and pain in his feet.
Unable to care for his child or be physically active, his injuries have left him with "prolonged depression and challenges to his mental health".
Gaudin pleaded guilty ahead of his trial to attempted murder, while Rule was convicted by a jury.
"This is a senseless tragedy," Judge Lodder said. "Your victim, a man now aged 26, faces a lifetime of serious, painful and depressing disability. You two, only 23 years old, will be going to prison for a very long time - all because of the contents of a video recording."
Rule has been jailed for 30 years, while Gaudin has been locked up for 27 years and will remain on extended licence for a further two years.