Three men have been jailed for more than 11 years each after opening fire on an unmarked police car while searching for rival gang members in east London.
Ricardo Miles, 21, Daniel Ikumelo, 23, and Adebola Alimi, 22, were cycling through Hackney looking for enemies in a gangland feud when the police car pulled up alongside them and Miles fired a Colt .45 revolver, Snaresbrook crown court was told.
No officers were harmed as the bullet hit the ground in front of the vehicle. Miles tried to fire a second time but the weapon jammed and he pointed it threateningly at the officers as they drove away.
All three were found guilty of possessing a weapon with the intent to endanger life, possessing ammunition and possessing a knife following a trial.
Passing sentence, the judge Neil Sanders said: "There was no lawful reason for you to have that weapon. There was a real risk of injury to not only the police officers but also residents as this was done in a residential area.
"Here the intention was to endanger life and to use the weapon when the occasion rose as demonstrated by when it was fired in the context of gang rivalry."
PC Richard Gilbert had been patrolling around Hackney when he spotted the group acting suspiciously at around 11.30pm on 10 January last year. He approached them in a car with another officer and saw them fiddling with their waists as though they were about to drop something, the court heard.
Miles produced the handgun and fired a shot towards the officers. Gilbert put the car in reverse as Miles continued to point the gun at them while the gang cycled away.
Miles, of Enfield, was sentenced to 13 years; Ikumelo, of Islington, was given 11 years and 11 months; and Alimi, of Hackney, 12 years.