beemerb
January 2, 2003, 11:44 AM
Hope this is in the right place.Long but well worth reading.
LONDON TIMES
January 02, 2003
Two teenage girls shot dead at party
by pa news
Two teenage girls have been shot dead and two injured following a dispute at a new year party in a hairdresser’s salon.
The girls, aged 17 and 18, were hit by a hail of bullets to the rear of the hair salon at 4am today in Birchfield Road, Birmingham.
Police launched a murder inquiry while forensic officers studied a bullet-ridden car found 50 metres from the scene.
Chief Superintendent Dave Shaw said the victims were among around 25 to 30 young people from across the West Midlands who attended the party.
"There has clearly been some sort of dispute which has resulted in people coming to the premises with guns, discharging their weapons and causing this incident" he said.
He said the cause of the dispute and the number of gunmen was not yet known. Two girls, aged 17 and 18, died at the scene while the other two, also 17 and 18, received non-life-threatening injuries.
The chief constable of West Midlands Police, Paul Scott-Lee, described the incident as a tragedy and stressed that the investigation was at an early stage.
"The reality is we have had an incident which in my short time in the West Midlands is unprecedented," the police chief said.
Mr Scott-Lee said those injured and killed appeared to have been leaving a party attended by young people from all over the wider area.
"Our sympathies go to the families who are going to have to live through the most devastating time that you can imagine," he added.
Mr Shaw said there were around 30 people attending the party at the time of the shootings, and officers were currently interviewing witnesses.
He appealed to members of the community to come forward and help officers with their inquiries, adding: "We cannot do this alone, we really cannot solve this without the help of the community."
The road around the murder scene was sealed off while officers conducted house to house inquiries. Nearby residents and businesses said police activity appeared to be centred on the back of the salon in the busy street.
One shopkeeper, who asked not to be named, said the road and surrounding streets were cordoned off before 8am and that police were refusing to allow anyone but business owners and residents through.
He said that the shootings appeared to have happened in a salon near Birchfield Road’s junction with Trinity Road, near the President Saddam Hussein mosque, a launderette, medical centre and several shops.
West Midlands Police say the growing prevalence of weapons seized in raids in Birmingham point to a growing gang culture where guns are freely used.
Uzi machine pistols - capable of firing 750 rounds a minute - were among the weapons seized by police in Birmingham.
Last year the number of firearm-related incidents in the West Midlands increased by almost 50 per cent from 1,512 in 2000-01 to 2,262 in 2001-02.
Guns imported from eastern Europe or Jamaica can be bought for as little as £100 on the street and hitmen hired for just a few thousands pounds.
Police operations to tackle gun-related gang crime among the city's black community have focused on hotspot areas including Handsworth, Winson Green, Ladywood, Highgate, Aston, Smethwick and Wolverhampton.
LONDON TIMES
January 02, 2003
Two teenage girls shot dead at party
by pa news
Two teenage girls have been shot dead and two injured following a dispute at a new year party in a hairdresser’s salon.
The girls, aged 17 and 18, were hit by a hail of bullets to the rear of the hair salon at 4am today in Birchfield Road, Birmingham.
Police launched a murder inquiry while forensic officers studied a bullet-ridden car found 50 metres from the scene.
Chief Superintendent Dave Shaw said the victims were among around 25 to 30 young people from across the West Midlands who attended the party.
"There has clearly been some sort of dispute which has resulted in people coming to the premises with guns, discharging their weapons and causing this incident" he said.
He said the cause of the dispute and the number of gunmen was not yet known. Two girls, aged 17 and 18, died at the scene while the other two, also 17 and 18, received non-life-threatening injuries.
The chief constable of West Midlands Police, Paul Scott-Lee, described the incident as a tragedy and stressed that the investigation was at an early stage.
"The reality is we have had an incident which in my short time in the West Midlands is unprecedented," the police chief said.
Mr Scott-Lee said those injured and killed appeared to have been leaving a party attended by young people from all over the wider area.
"Our sympathies go to the families who are going to have to live through the most devastating time that you can imagine," he added.
Mr Shaw said there were around 30 people attending the party at the time of the shootings, and officers were currently interviewing witnesses.
He appealed to members of the community to come forward and help officers with their inquiries, adding: "We cannot do this alone, we really cannot solve this without the help of the community."
The road around the murder scene was sealed off while officers conducted house to house inquiries. Nearby residents and businesses said police activity appeared to be centred on the back of the salon in the busy street.
One shopkeeper, who asked not to be named, said the road and surrounding streets were cordoned off before 8am and that police were refusing to allow anyone but business owners and residents through.
He said that the shootings appeared to have happened in a salon near Birchfield Road’s junction with Trinity Road, near the President Saddam Hussein mosque, a launderette, medical centre and several shops.
West Midlands Police say the growing prevalence of weapons seized in raids in Birmingham point to a growing gang culture where guns are freely used.
Uzi machine pistols - capable of firing 750 rounds a minute - were among the weapons seized by police in Birmingham.
Last year the number of firearm-related incidents in the West Midlands increased by almost 50 per cent from 1,512 in 2000-01 to 2,262 in 2001-02.
Guns imported from eastern Europe or Jamaica can be bought for as little as £100 on the street and hitmen hired for just a few thousands pounds.
Police operations to tackle gun-related gang crime among the city's black community have focused on hotspot areas including Handsworth, Winson Green, Ladywood, Highgate, Aston, Smethwick and Wolverhampton.