Gang who shot 5-year-old Thusha jailed for drug dealing

Jon Clements

Former Crime Correspondent

5-year-old Thusha Kamaleswaren was shot as she played in her uncle's grocery shop. Credit: Met Police

Members of the gang which shot Thusha Kamaleswaran have been jailed today for selling crack and heroin.

The seven men and teenagers were not involved in the incident which left Thusha, 5, paralysed but their drug-dealing fuelled the cycle of violence which led to it.

The eldest was 47 and carried a 13 month old girl on his shoulders and wraps of cocaine in his mouth, the youngest a 16 year old.

They were all part of the GAS or Guns and Shanks gang, based in Brixon, and have got 25 years in total.

Detective Inspector Lee Hill who led the operation makes it clear their crimes had a ripple effect:

That violence included the ride-by shooting of Thusha in her uncle's shop in Stockwell by three other GAS members who were chasing a rival from the ABM, or All Bout Money, gang.

CCTV footage shows little Thusha dancing around her uncle's shop minutes before she was shot and paralysed. She had wanted to be a dancer. Credit: Met Police

They were convicted on Monday and face life sentences next month.

Also, good to see the officers in this case put a name to the gang and properly inform the public about who the guilty people are - given how prevalent these groups are on Facebook and YouTube the argument that naming them in traditional media glamourises them seems ever more dubious.