PITTSBURGH — The man wanted in connection with the deadly shooting of a 3-year-old girl turned himself in Friday.
Paul Parrish, 40, wasn’t allowed to have a gun because he is convicted felon. He owned the home on Mount Washington where Yasha Ross, 3, found a gun and accidentally shot herself.
According to the criminal complaint, Parrish, Ross’ mother and another person were smoking marijuana in the basement of the Southern Avenue home when they heard a “loud bang.”
Ross’ mother went upstairs to find her daughter bleeding and crying out for her. The child was rushed to the hospital, where she died.
“It appears that she got possession of a weapon that was in the house and shot herself in the upper chest,” Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala said.
The complaint said Parrish told police the gun belonged to his ex-girlfriend and he was keeping it as collateral because she owed him money.
Yasha’s grandmother told Channel 11 that she and Yasha’s father had concerns when the girl’s mother picked her up in Philadelphia three weeks ago to bring her back to Pittsburgh.
“Her mother wanted to take her. She thought she could raise her,” the child’s grandmother said. “I didn't know this was gonna happen, but I knew she couldn't handle it.”
Yasha’s mother has not been charged, and the grandmother disagrees with that.
“I think both of them need to be charged,” she said. “I think he needs to be charged for having the gun and she needs to be charged for having the baby around it.”
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Parrish faces charges for having the gun, and investigators are looking for the ex-girlfriend who owned the gun. Zappala said he has not ruled out filing homicide charges.
“Parrish has a history of violence. He's a felon not to possess a handgun. That was his handgun,” Zappala said. “As a felon not to possess, and a child loses her life because he does in fact possess, there's a principle here that would in fact make it appropriate to prosecute for the homicide.”
Parrish’s criminal record dates back to 2005, with several gun and drug charges filed over the years, Channel 11 News learned.
A funeral for Yasha Ross will be held on Monday.
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