Thusha Appeal Fund

Three men have been found guilty of a gang-related shooting that left a five-year-old girl paralysed.

Nathaniel Grant, Kazeem Kolawole and Anthony McCalla were convicted by a jury at the Old Bailey of causing grievous bodily harm to Thusha Kamaleswaran.

She was gunned down as she played in her aunt's shop in south London in March last year.

A bullet hit her in the chest and passed through her spine, leaving her wheelchair-bound for life.

Film from several cameras played in court showed Thusha, in a pink dress, dancing along the shop's aisle as the intended victim and another shopper rushed by her.

She was then seen slumped on the floor.

Shopper Roshan Selvakumar, 35, was shot in the face and has been left with bullet fragments permanently lodged in his head.

Grant, Kolawole and McCalla were looking for a rival gang member when Grant opened fire into the Stockwell Food and Wine shop.

They were also convicted of attempted murder of their intended victim, Roshaun Bryan, who was unhurt.

In a statement read outside the court, Thusha's parents thanked emergency services for helping their daughter on the day she was shot.

"We are very happy that justice has been done," her parents said.

Thusha's mother, Sharmila, described the shock of seeing her daughter on a hospital bed.

"Seeing Thusha took my heart away," she said.

She said her daughter's dreams of becoming a singer and dancer had been shattered.

Mrs Kamaleswaran wept during the trial as the jury saw clear CCTV footage of the moment her daughter was gunned down.

The judge, Martin Stephens QC, warned jurors that what they were about to see would be "disturbing".

The court heard how Thusha's heart stopped before paramedics arrived and managed to resuscitate her.

Her condition deteriorated on the way to hospital, where she was revived again.

The prosecution said the shooting was a tit-for-tat attack by members of the Brixton-based GAS gang on rivals the ABM gang from Stockwell.

Grant, 21, Kolawole, 19, and McCalla, 20, who all denied the charges, are due to be sentenced on April 19.

"The three men convicted here today showed a complete disregard for public safety," Crown Prosecution Service's Daren Streeter said.

After the verdicts, junior prosecutor Michelle Nelson told the court that Thusha is expected to be discharged from hospital next week.

"It will be the first time the family will all be together since the incident," she said.

:: Some of the police officers involved in the case have been so moved by Thusha's plight that they are donating to her care with funds raised during their Three Peaks climb attempt in September.

A bank account for the Thusha Appeal Fund has been opened at HSBC Bank, 5 Wimbledon Hill Road, London SW19 7NF. Donations can be made to account number 12239108, sort code 40-07-30.

Edited March 27, 201213 yr by Nellaiyan