The 15-year-old schoolgirl's life was tragically cut short when she was blasted in the throat in front of horrified pals at a birthday party for her boyfriend
A popular schoolgirl and star pupil was killed after being “accidentally” shot in the neck by a
friend who was waving a gun in people’s faces, it was claimed tonight.
friend who was waving a gun in people’s faces, it was claimed tonight.
The life of 15-year-old Shereka Fab-Ann Marsh was tragically cut short when the prefect was apparently blasted in the throat in front of horrified pals at a birthday party for her boyfriend in East London.
The weapon, thought to be a Second World War pistol, is said to have gone off “without warning” – with the fatal bullet hitting the talented student who was sitting opposite the alleged gunman.
Three teenage boys – two aged 16 and one 15 – were tonight being questioned about the incident after they were arrested near the scene following the shooting in Hackney on Saturday
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The tweet Shereka sent a few hours before her death.
Metropolitan Police detectives were probing one theory that the alleged gunman was stashing the antique pistol for a senior gang member.
Metropolitan Police detectives were probing one theory that the alleged gunman was stashing the antique pistol for a senior gang member.
Shereka’s mother – Shyrine, 41 – was tonight said to be “beside herself with grief” at losing her daughter, who was an only child.
Mourners today left flowers and messages of condolence outside the terraced house on Eastway, where the horror unfolded.
Sources revealed Shereka – who lived in Hackney – was at the house in preparation for a party being thrown for her partner, 15.
Moments before the shooting, “bubbly” Shereka – who was good at sports and wanted to study business – gave the birthday boy Nike Air Force 1 trainers as a present.
Moments before the shooting, “bubbly” Shereka – who was good at sports and wanted to study business – gave the birthday boy Nike Air Force 1 trainers as a present.
But distraught friends told how joy then turned to utter devastation in the space of a few life-changing seconds.
Describing the bloody events, one of Shereka’s mates – who only gave his name as William – told the Mirror: “I heard they were all having a joke when a boy got the gun out to show the others in the living room.
"Everybody was telling him to put it away – they were actually screaming at him – but he was messing about and waving the gun in people’s faces.
“Then apparently the gun just went off. There was a loud bang and Shereka fell down to the floor covered in blood.
“The boys just ran out of the house screaming, no one knew what to do. It’s just unbelievable.
“Someone, I don’t know if it was a neighbour, heard the screaming and the bang and called the police. The ambulance got there pretty quickly.”
Paramedics battled to save Shereka but she was pronounced dead at the scene, near London’s Olympic Park which stands just a few hundred yards away.
A group of Shereka’s friends gathered there today as forensic officers continued a search of the property.
One of the schoolmates, Chinelle Jennings, 16, said: “She was a nice bubbly girl who loved to party and go shopping. She was the kind of girl that you would have to fall in love with.
“Shereka liked PE and her favourite subject was history. She wanted to study business.
“She was an only child whose dad was in Jamaica. But she lived with her mum – they had each other, just the two of them. Shereka cherished her mum.”
A close friend of Shereka’s mother said: “She was the apple of her mum’s eye – she was her world and now she is gone. It’s just senseless madness, there is no way to justify this.
“Shyrine will never be able to come to terms with this. How can you ever get on with life after losing a child?”
It also emerged that just hours before the shooting Shereka posted this message on her Twitter account: