Aya Hachem's body flown home to Lebanon as dad says they came to UK for 'safety'

The family of a 19-year-old law student flew to their home country of Lebanon on Friday to lay her to rest.

Aya Hachem's family boarded a special flight from London with the teenager's body in a casket.

She was shot dead in an alleged drive-by in broad daylight last weekend.

Aya suffered a single gunshot wound to the chest in Blackburn, Lancashire, last Sunday as she headed to the supermarket to do her grocery shopping.

It is thought she was caught in gunfire intended for Pashar Khan.

Following Aya's death her father Ismail Hachem - a former soldier - spoke of how he had moved from war torn Lebanon ten years ago to give his daughter a better chance at life.

He said: "We came to England to seek safety, yet our daughter was mercilessly killed.

"Are we supposed to feel safe now?

"How do you expect us to walk down the streets of Blackburn without thinking that it could be us next?

"How do you expect us to walk down the streets where she was shot?"

The devastated dad shared the heartbreaking message from Lebanon.

It was the first time Ismail had returned to the country since he fled the war-torn nation to seek asylum in the UK.

On the flight out he told Aya's younger siblings Assil, 13, and Amir, four, they could see her in the sky.

Ismail said that he would "never recover" from the misery caused by his daughter's death.

Aya and her dad came to the UK ten years ago along with her mum Samar, 41, and Aya’s elder brother Ibrahim, 22, and younger sister Assil, 11.

They initially travelled on a visitor's visa before being granted settlement last year.

Prior to making the journey the Hachems had lived in the seaside town of Qlaileh where Ismail set up a pizza shop having retired from the military.

He made the decision to move the UK after being shot in the back in crossfire, the Sun on Sunday reported.

When Aya arrived in the country the only English word she could say was 'hello'.

Within two months she could speak fluently, her 40-year-old uncle Ali said.

She went on to become a star pupil at Blackburn central high school.

The teenager was named "most improved student" of the 180 pupils in her final year before going on to study law at the University of Salford.

Aya had just passed her second year and was looking for a work placement when she was gunned down getting groceries from Lidl for her family during Ramadan.

Heartbroken Ismail, 50, said: "Aya was an aspiring solicitor who wanted the best for everyone.

"She herself wanted to bring justice to those who were innocent.

"She never got a chance to graduate, she never got a chance to enjoy her life, she never got to experience any of it.

"All of this because someone decided it was okay to mercilessly shoot our daughter.

"To think that Aya and her mother used to discuss what graduation dress she was going to wear next year.

"But instead her mother dressed her in her funeral dress because she never got to graduate."

A sixth person has been charged with the murder of Aya.

Four men and a woman have already been charged with the murder.

On Sunday, a Lancashire Police spokesman said Ayaz Hussain, 34, of Calgary Avenue, Blackburn, had been charged with the same offences.

He will appear before magistrates in Preston on Monday, the force said.

Blackburn residents Feroz Suleman, 39, Kashif Manzoor, 24, Uthman Satia, 28, Abubakir Satia, 31, and Judy Chapman, 26, appeared at Preston Magistrates' Court, sitting at Sessions House Crown Court, in separate hearings on Saturday.

The five were remanded in custody to appear at Preston Crown Court on Wednesday.

Det Supt Andy Cribbin said: "As part of our investigation we are looking at what happened before and after Aya was shot.

"To understand this fully, we need anyone who was driving along the A666, particularly between Ewood in Blackburn and Bolton and vice versa around those times mentioned, to send us any dash cam footage they may have.

"I appreciate this is quite a long period of time but knowing who was moving along that road at those times is key to us."

Anybody with any other information is asked to call 101, quoting log number 0412 of May 18, or anonymously via independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.