Two men were taken to hospital after a car-chase ended in a shooting and machete attack near to where children were playing, in the second violent incident to take place in a residential area in Britain’s second city.
The incident occurred at around 6:40pm on Friday in the inner-city Saltley area of Birmingham, where after one of the two vehicles involved in the chase crashed into a wall near Silver Birch Close. The Guardian reports that two of the vehicle’s occupants were shot at and attacked with a machete by masked men, the assailants fleeing in the second vehicle and evading police.
The victims, both 23-year-old males, were taken to hospital with one suffering a minor graze from the firearm pellet and the other being treated for blade wounds to his legs. The former was released but arrested on suspicion of carrying a firearm.
West Midlands Police said in a statement: “Witnesses have told that several shots were fired and it’s very fortunate innocent people, including children, were not injured. We believe this was a targeted attack between rival groups.
“It’s simply not acceptable for people to engage in this level of violence in residential streets and we all need to work together to catch those responsible and send out a message that our communities won’t tolerate this.”
The incident came after 20-year-old James Teer was murdered in a drive-by shooting the Birmingham suburb of Erdington. The attack happened at 7:20pm on Thursday, and police are appealing to the public for witnesses, saying that they believe that “there will be people in the community who know what’s happened and who was involved.”
In a statement, the police said: “We have a specially trained family liaison officer supporting James’ loved ones; they are totally devastated and inconsolable; they can’t comprehend what’s happened and want answers. They’ve asked for people to respect their privacy and allow them to grieve as a family.
“This was an outrageous act in the early evening on one of our streets. One young man has lost his life and we are determined to bring the people responsible to justice.”
It was reported that James was playing football with a group of friends in the street, not far from where he lived with his parents, when a car pulled up and an occupant shot him once, killing him.
The Midlands city has seen a rise in drug trafficking, knife crime, and gang-related gun crime in recent years.
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