A five-year-old Hainault girl was “happily playing” in a shop when she was hit by gang gunfire and left permanently paralysed, a court heard today.

Thusha Kamaleswaran died twice as paramedics battled to save her life following the shooting at Stockwell Food and Wine in south London in March last year.

Three men with their faces partially covered “circled” on bikes outside the shop, before one opened fire with a handgun.

They were searching for rival gang members but hit “two completely innocent bystanders”, prosecutor Edward Brown QC said.

A bullet passed through Thusha’s body and an emergency team had to carry out “invasive surgery” at the scene to restart her heart, jurors at the Old Bailey heard.

The little girl, of Tomswood Hill, went into cardiac arrest for a second time at King’s College Hospital but was again saved by emergency surgery.

However, her injuries caused paralysis and the former pupil of Fairlop Primary School, Colvin Gardens, Hainault, will never walk again.

Thusha, whose uncle owns the shop, was playing with her two siblings just before the shooting shortly after 9pm on March 29 last year.

Mr Brown said the gun was fired at least twice, and that the gunman would have been able to see Thusha when he fired the second shot.

A 35-year-old shopper was also hit during the shooting and has bullet fragments permanently lodged in his head.

Had the wound been centimetres to one side he would have died, jurors were told.

Kazeem Kolawole, 19, Anthony McCalla, 19, and Nathaniel Grant, 21, deny causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Thusha and the shopper Roshan Selvakumar.

Opening the prosecution case, Mr Brown said that Thusha and Mr Selvakumar were “remarkably lucky” to survive.

The trial continues