‘We came here to find safety’: Father of model law student Aya Hachem, 19, tells of heartbreak as family returns to Lebanon for her funeral 10 years after they escaped from brutal war
- Aya Hachem was walking to a supermarket in Blackburn when she was shot
- Her father Ismail Hachem – a former soldier – arrived in England ten years ago
- He now questions how his family will feel safe again after broad-daylight attack
The father of a 19-year-old law student gunned down in an alleged drive-by shooting told how the family fled war-torn Lebanon in the hopes of finding safety in Britain ten years ago.
Innocent passer-by Aya Hachem was walking to Lidl supermarket near her family home in Blackburn when she was hit by a bullet fired from a passing Toyota car last Sunday.
The first of two shots struck a building but the second fatally pierced her chest.
Her father Ismail Hachem – a former soldier – arrived in England ten years ago as an asylum seeker. He was granted British citizenship last year.
Ismail Hachem – father of a 19-year-old law student gunned down in an alleged drive-by shooting – told how the family fled war-torn Lebanon in the hopes of finding safety in Britain ten years ago
Innocent passer-by Aya Hachem was walking to Lidl supermarket near her family home in Blackburn when she was hit by a bullet fired from a passing Toyota car last Sunday
He said his family sought ‘to find safety’ after he was shot in the back.
He now questions how his family will ever feel safe again after the broad-daylight attack.
He told The Sun on Sunday: ‘Aya and her mother used to discuss her graduation dress. Instead her mother dressed her in her funeral dress.’
The family returned to Lebanon for the teenager’s funeral which was held in Qlaileh on Saturday.
Ms Hachem was a second year student at the University of Salford and the eldest of four siblings.
Ms Hachem, wearing a white top, stands a few yards from the Toyota which slowed beside her before several shots were fired on Sunday
Ms Hachem’s mother is comforted during her daughter’s funeral in Qlaileh in south Lebanon
Paramedics battled to save the Children’s Society charity volunteer, but she died a short while after she was taken to hospital. Pictured: Her funeral on Saturday
The teenager’s funeral was held in Qlaileh in south Lebanon on Saturday. Pictured: Her coffin is carried by relatives
Paramedics battled to save the Children’s Society charity volunteer, but she died a short while after she was taken to hospital.
It comes as four men and a woman appeared in court charged with her murder.
The defendants, from Blackburn and Great Harwood, spoke only to confirm their name and address when they appeared at Preston Magistrates’ Court.
The court was told that the allegations were so serious they could only be heard at the crown court and no applications for bail could be made.
The five defendants will appear for a bail application hearing at Preston Crown Court on Wednesday.
Relatives of Miss Hachem threw flower petals during her funeral at a cemetery in her family’s hometown