Five-year old girl caught in London gang cross-fire critical
Five-year-old Thusha Kamaleswaran is in critical condition in hospital after being shot in the chest in south London on Tuesday.
The girl - believed to be the capital's youngest gun crime victim - was found with a 35-year-old man who had been shot in the head after an incident at Stockwell Food & Wine shop in Lambeth. The casual attack, indicative of gangland gun culture, has left both victims fighting for life.
The bullet only narrowly missed Thusha Kamaleswaran's heart, reports said.
Police are hunting for three youths who are believed to have opened fire after chasing two others into the shop at about 9.15pm on Tuesday.
As the pair hid inside, the gunman stopped at the door and opened fire indiscriminately. Police are not sure how many bullets were fired.
Detective Chief Inspector Tony Boughton appealed for the two youths who were the apparent intended targets of the attacks to come forward.
"They are an important part in helping us understand exactly what was happening and should be able to direct us to those responsible," he said.
He added that the injured pair "could have died and may still do".
Family friend Kirubakaran Nantheesparan said he saw the child, who is originally from Sri Lanka, being shot. "She was flat on the floor," he said.
"I didn't see any blood on her body just a small injury on her chest on the right hand side."
Thusha Kamaleswaran was visiting relatives who owned the shop when she was caught up in the shooting.
