Gun violence on the rise as gangs emerge from lockdown, crime commissioner warns
David Jamieson said Birmingham has seen ‘a large increase in gun discharges’ in recent days.
Shootings and violence are on the increase in the West Midlands with criminal gangs “coming out of lockdown”, the region’s police and crime commissioner has warned.
David Jamieson said there has been “a large increase in gun discharges” and a rise in street violence in recent days.
He was speaking after a series of street shootings in Birmingham, with at least three incidents in two days.
West Midlands Police released dramatic footage of one of the shootings, where a car was rammed off the road before a hooded gunman opened fire on the fleeing occupants in the Balsall Heath area.
Addressing a meeting of regional health and local government leaders on Friday, he said: “We’re now seeing the increase of violence on the streets.
“The gangs – they too are now coming out of lockdown.
“We’ve seen quite a large increase in gun discharges across the West Midlands, mainly in and around the centre of Birmingham, but really in all areas.
