Cradley shooting: Boy, 17, suffers 'potentially life-changing injuries'
A 17-year-old boy is in hospital with potentially life-changing injuries after he was shot in Cradley while he was out with his friends.
The teenager was shot at near tennis courts at Homer Hill Recreation Ground, just off Homer Hill Road, at around 7.30pm on Friday.
A spokeswoman for West Midlands Police said: "We have sealed off the area for forensic examination and looking at CCTV.
"There will be extra police officers in the area today as we try to establish the motive for the attack.
"The teenager was with friends and we have spoken to them, but we are keen to hear from anyone else who saw what happened and can help us trace the offenders.
"You can contact us via Live Chat on our website - west-midlands.police.uk - or by calling 101 quoting log 3446 of 8/4."
Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org
Connor's mother Amanda Harper took to Facebook to leave a message of thanks to everyone who has messaged her about Connor, but also said that she wasn't sure whether he's be able to walk again.
She said: "Thank you to everyone asking how Connor is, it means a lot.
"Just to let everyone know he’s been shot three times in the back with a gun and it’s not known for sure that he’ll be able to walk again but thank you for everyone who have asked about him."
Residents living near and people visiting Homer Hill Park in Cradley were still taking in what had happened on Friday evening.
For one resident, who didn't want to be named, the last few days had been unsettling, saying she had heard the full story a day later and was still taking in what had happened.
She said: "From where we are, we can see down the street and we always see groups of youths out there, although they never seem to cause any trouble and just go into the park to play basketball.
"I heard a lot of commotion on Friday and saw about six or seven police cars, plus a van, on the road, which was a shock as there's a lot of elderly people who live around here and we never see anything like this here.
"I've only just heard about the boy as well and I'm just in shock about that as he's so young and it makes me worry as I have young grand-daughters who visit here and I fear for them being caught up in things like this."
