Jurors visit shop where girl, 5, was shot
3:54pm Monday 20th February 2012 in Where I Live By Rachel Blundy
Thusha Kamaleswaran with her mother and family before the shooting.
Jurors in the trial of a five-year-old girl who was caught in the crossfire of a gang feud have visited the place where she was shot.
Twelve jury members, accompanied by court barristers and scores of police officers, were taken to the Stockwell shop where Thusha Kamaleswaran was hit by a single bullet in the chest and left paralysed from the waist down.
They were also shown the route which Anthony McCalla, from Streatham, and his accomplices Nathaniel Grant and Kazeem Kolawole, are alleged to have taken on the evening of March 29 from Foxley Square to the shop.
Edward Brown QC, who represents the Crown Prosecution Service, led jurors in a walk around the housing estate where he says the defendants met before the shooting.
Shortly before 9pm, they were caught on CCTV riding bikes in the square, before moving on to fire test shots at nearby Hammelton Green, leaving bullet marks on the trees, the prosecution say.
They then returned to Foxley Square, where they got back on their bikes and rode towards Stockwell Road.
The court has heard how the three defendants, allegedly members of the Brixton based GAS gang, briefly stopped off at a house, which is home to one of McCalla’s relatives, and put on three white masks.
They were next seen, with hoods up and masks on, continuing their journey towards the main road, where Mr Brown says they encountered Roshaun Bryan, a member of the rival ABM (All Bout Money) gang.
As they chased Mr Bryan, he ran into the Stockwell Food and Wine Shop, where Grant is alleged to have fired the two or three shots, which missed him but hit Thusha and another victim, 35-year-old Roshan Selvakumar.
Mr Bryan, who is awaiting a trial for drugs offences, told the court last week that he was “scared” before the attack, while Stephen Kamlish QC, defending Grant, suggested a rival drug dealer had ordered him to be shot.
McCalla, of Oakdale Road, Grant, from Camberwell, and Kolawole, from Kennington, deny one count of attempted murder, two counts of grievous bodily harm and a final count of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
The trial continues.
