Man shot in leg in latest Handsworth street shooting

The victim was walking down the street when he was fired at from the window of a property.

A man has been taken to hospital after being shot in the leg walking down the street in one of a spate of West Midlands firearms incidents.

The man was injured on Rookery Road in Handsworth on Wednesday five weeks after another shooting on the same street.

There have been several shootings in the region in recent days including an attack in Wolverhampton where a man was shot in the leg.

West Midlands Police said a 33-year-old needed treatment for “injuries consistent” with a gunshot, after being fired at from the window of an address in Rookery Road.

The incident happened just after 7am on Wednesday.

The injured man, who suffered a fractured leg, is described as being in a stable condition.

Later the same day in King Edward Road, in the Ladywood area of the city, the occupant of a car opened fire on another vehicle.

During the ensuing chaos, a cyclist – not involved in the shooting – was hit by a car and knocked off his bike, at about 5pm.

And on Tuesday, the occupants of a car involved in a crash in the Balsall Heath area were shot at, in what police believe was a “targeted attack”.

The collision, involving a grey Citroen C3 car and a white Volkswagen Transporter van, happened just after 8pm.

CCTV showed the people in the Citroen were shot at from the direction of the van as they tried to flee the scene in Mary Street.

And at around 6.40pm on Thursday a man in his 20s was shot on Wayside in Pendeford, Wolverhampton.

During a recent update to the West Midlands strategic policing and crime board, Deputy Chief Constable Louisa Rolfe said in recent weeks more than 550 rounds of ammunition and six guns had been seized in various raids across the region.

Ms Rolfe said: “We have taken this opportunity to really get ahead of all kind of organised crime and those who might be causing significant anxiety to our communities, through on-street drug-dealing and County Lines.

“We’ve executed 55 warrants during the period of lockdown, seized more than £500,000 in cash, 2.5kg of class A drugs and 1,800 cannabis plants, six firearms and 550 rounds of ammunition.”

She said the police were “focused on those individuals who want to cause harm in our community”.