Teenager shot dead his 12-year-old sister with their MOTHER'S illegal gun

¸ A Girl of 12 was accidentally shot dead by her brother as he played with an illegal gun their mother had buried in the garden.

Kamilah Peniston, described by her teachers as 'an inspiration', was watching television with her younger sisters when the handgun went off.

She was hit in the head and her 16-yearold brother Kasha, who had been "messing around" playing with the snub-nosed revolver in the pocket of his hooded top, carried the dying girl outside shouting, "I've shot my sister. It was an accident. Please get an ambulance".

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Kamilah was shot dead as she watched TV at home

He cradled her on the pavement until help arrived.

The shooting of a schoolgirl in the living room of her own home - in a part of Manchester close to areas plagued by drugs gangs - was one of the most shocking incidents of a year in which alarm has mounted over gun crime.

The full story of what happened in the Penistons' semi-detached council house in Gorton on April 30 can be told for the first time after Kasha admitted manslaughter yesterday.

A judge lifted restrictions barring the Press from naming him, saying it was in the public interest to highlight the devastation that could be caused by illegal weapons.

Kasha - who appeared at Manchester Crown Court wearing a Tshirt showing three pictures of his sister and the legend "Kamilah: 1995-2007" - held his head in his hands as he entered his guilty plea.

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17-year-old Kasha Peniston pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his sister Kamilah

His mother, Natasha, 33, who has never revealed why she had the gun, fought back tears as the charges were read out.

Kasha and Kamilah had been watching television at around 7.30pm along with their younger sisters, seven-year-old twins, while their mother was away in London at a funeral.

Mrs Peniston, a single mother, later told detectives she had told Kasha about the loaded revolver in the garden and had ordered him not to touch it.

But the teenager, who had a conviction for robbing a man of a mobile phone and was regarded as a 'wannabe' gangster, ignored her.

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The .38 snubnose revolver used by Kasha Peniston

Kasha, who had been wearing a leather golfing glove on his right hand - a style inspired by gangsters, told police he had been messing around with the gun in his pocket when it went off by mistake.

Kamilah, who was lying on the sofa next to the twins, was hit in the forehead, and although Kasha carried her outside and she was taken to hospital, she died the next day after emergency surgery.

When Kasha was later asked by police what gun it was, he replied: "It's a .38."

He added: £I was shocked - I didn't think it was loaded. I would never purposely do anything to harm her.

"I love her - I feel devastated."

He was charged with Kamilah's-murder, but when he appeared in court yesterday the Crown Prosecution Service accepted his plea of guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of gross negligence.

Richard Marks QC, defending, said the teenager admitted Kamilah's death was his fault. "He did not intend that the gun should be discharged - he had no ill feeling towards his sister," he added.

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Mother Natasha Peniston, at the funeral of her daughter Kamilah

"It was a terrible tragedy and a terrible accident."

The judge, Mr Justice Holland, agreed to lift restrictions on reporting that Kamilah had been shot by her brother, saying: "Critical to me is the public interest in the possession and use of firearms, particularly a firearm of this nature."

Now aged 17, Kasha - who also admitted possessing a firearm and ammunition - will be sentenced later.

Mrs Peniston has admitted possessing an illegal weapon and will also be sentenced later.

A year before the shooting Kasha had been convicted of robbing a man of his mobile phone in August 2005 and was ordered to abide by a 90-day curfew and pay £400 compensation.

In January last year he had been at another house in Manchester when it was raided by police.

A gun from the same Germanmade batch as that with which he shot Kamilah was found under the floorboards, but he was not charged.

Neighbours, who regarded Kamilah as a hard-working "brainbox", were shocked that their mother could have been involved in illegal firearms as they regarded her as a respectable woman doing her best to raise her children in a poor area.

Kamilah attended St Thomas Aquinas High School, and her head teacher, Ed Wyllie, later paid her a lavish tribute, calling her "an inspiration to us all".

He added: "She was a very studious, loving, wonderful girl who did everything that all her teachers asked her for and more."

At Kamilah's funeral, Mrs Peniston paid tribute to her as "our princess, a natural-born entertainer", adding: "You had the ability to bring the sunshine into a room when you smiled."

After yesterday's hearing, Superintendent John O'Hare said: "This was a tragic incident that has destroyed a family.

"This incident shows the devastating impact that guns can have on our community.

"These weapons are not toys and should not be treated as such."

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