New arrest in girl shooting probe - News in brief - Evening Standard
       

New arrest in girl shooting probe

Detectives investigating the death of 12-year-old Kamilah Peniston, who was accidentally shot by her brother while he was "messing around" with a gun stashed by his mother, have arrested a 41-year-old man on suspicion of possession of a firearm.

The arrest by Greater Manchester Police comes two days after Kamilah's brother Kasha Peniston, 17, was given a two-year sentence for her manslaughter.

Their mother, 33-year-old Natasha Peniston, was jailed for three years for possession of the gun, telling Manchester Crown Court she had been "prevailed upon" by a boyfriend, a serious criminal, to stash the weapon.

Kasha was playing with the .38 snub-nosed revolver with sister Kamilah, and her eight-year-old twin sisters, watching TV and eating snacks at the family home in Gorton, Manchester.

The boy, then aged 16, had it in his pocket, and was playing with the gun.

He was pulling the trigger but had pushed out the cylinder, which holds the bullets, so they could not be fired.

Somehow the cylinder slipped back into place - and Kasha pulled the trigger while holding the gun to his sister's forehead.

A single bullet hit the girl as she lay on the settee. Kamilah was left brain dead and died in hospital the next day with her mother Natasha at her bedside.

Both Kasha and his mother faced longer mandatory sentences, which were reduced by the judge because of the "exceptional circumstances" of the case - a decision which was criticised as an "absolute disgrace".

Natasha Peniston made a statement to police identifying the criminal and police have launched a manhunt. The boyfriend cannot be named for legal reasons and the family now fear reprisals for co-operating with police, the court heard.

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