Police Issue Warrant For Convicted Felon In Connection With 3-Year-Old's Death
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pittsburgh Police say when 3-year-old Yasha Ross accidentally shot herself in a Mount Washington home last Sunday, her mother and two other men were in the basement smoking marijuana.
One of those men has been identified as 40-year-old Paul Parrish.
Parrish is a convicted felon, and because of that, he was not legally allowed to have a gun.
Police said when the adults heard a loud bang, they ran upstairs and found Yasha bleeding and crying out for her mother. When police arrived on the scene, they found the gun on a bedroom floor.
Sources told KDKA-TV News the gun was in an unlocked safe in a bedroom closed.
Parrish was charged with murder in 1996 in the shooting death of his roommate, 19-year-old James Youngblood. He later pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
Brenda Waters' Report:
According to our partners at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Parrish was arrested by police when he tried to flee the shooting scene and wrecked his car.
Parrish told police after the incident, that the gun belonged to a former girlfriend, who owed him money after he paid some of her fines. He was keeping the gun, until she paid him back.
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Allegheny County District Attorney Steven Zappala said, "The preliminary indication is that Ross discharged the weapon herself, she shot herself in the upper chest."
A warrant has been issued for Parrish's arrest. As of late Thursday night, he was not in custody.
