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Girl, 14, accused of supplying machine guns
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| The Mac-10 can fire 1,000 rounds per minute. |
A 14-YEAR-OLD girl from north-west London stands accused of conspiracy to supply a machine gun capable of firing 1,000 rounds a minute.
The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is one of four suspects from the area who appeared at High Barnet magistrates' court charged with gun-related crimes.
She was charged with possessing two revolvers, a Mac-10 machine gun and a second machine pistol.
A 16-year-old male youth was also accused of possessing a revolver with intent to endanger life, as well as drugs and CS sprays.
18-year-old Korrey Johnson-Bell, of Westfield Close, Brent, was charged with possession of a machine pistol while Genevieve Sahel, 31, also of Westfield Close, faced charges of conspiracy to supply firearms, possession of prohibited weapons and possession of ammunition.
Their court appearance on Saturday follows an investigation by London's Trident crime unit, which handles gun crime in black communities. It occurred as five more victims fell prey to gun crime in the capital this weekend.
Gang warfare upsurge
An internal police report, revealed by the Observer newspaper on Sunday, painted a grim picture of the surge in gang warfare and "post-code killings" in London.
The report focuses on Hackney, where father-of-two Steven Nyembo-Ya-Muteba was murdered outside his home two weeks ago after asking a gang of youths to be quiet.
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| Steven Nyembo-Ya-Muteba was murdered after asking a gang of youths to be quiet. |
It says gun and knife crime in the north-east London borough is increasing more rapidly than anywhere in the capital.
The report, written by Superintendent Leroy Logan, highlights the "terrible acts of gratuitous violence" that have afflicted the area, "ending up in young people losing their lives or being badly injured, because they were visiting the area and were known by the local violent youth, showing the serious implications of district code warfare".
Violent music videos
The police chief points to a growing trend which is seeing gangs produce music videos, being broadcast on digital music channels, encouraging violent attacks on rivals.
The report, circulated across the Metropolitan police four months ago, warns that if "gangster glamour, was not "shattered" it would "continually end up in predator-type packs of youths committing the most disgusting acts of violence and other forms of crime".
According to the Observer, police are particularly concerned about Sky television's Channel U which is seen by some as glamorising gang culture.
Darren Platt, the director of Channel U, told the paper it had "tightened things up" and now rejected videos advocating violence and guns.
God squad
One solution put forward by Superintendent Logan is the US initiative of "street pastors".
Under the American scheme volunteers from local churches, wearing overtly religious clothing, patrol crime hotspots.
The report claims that black males aged between 13 and 19 are less likely to commit crime if they know a pastor is around.
1:07pm Monday 16th October 2006
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