STREETS OF RAGE

Dramatic moment gunman opens fire in middle of street and machete maniac chases victim after crash

THIS is the shocking moment a gunman opens fire in a street and a machete-wielding maniac chases the victims of a car crash.

Cops have released the horrifying footage in a bid to track down the two armed men after the broad daylight attack in Balsall Heath, Birmingham.

The chilling clip, captured by a camera on one of the houses on Mary Street on Tuesday, shows a white van shunting a Citroen C3 into a lamppost.

The smaller car almost rolls onto its side after knocking down the post, but lands on all four wheels as the van pulls up sharply in front of it.

Almost immediately four men flee from the Citroen and run away from the white van.

Armed men leap from the VW Transporter van and chase the victims of the crash before being picked up and driven off.

Dramatic security camera footage shows the moment the gunman stops in the middle of the road and opens fire at around 8pm on May 26.

West Midlands Police want to track down the people in both vehicles and find the van involved, which had false plates.

Officers don't think anyone was injured but want to find everyone involved.

Detective Inspector Richard Marsh, from Force CID, said: "We have released CCTV as we are urgently appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident, or saw anything suspicious around the time to come forward.

'FIGHTING FOR TERRITORY'

"We believe this was a targeted attack, and will not tolerate violence of this nature on our streets.

"The Citroen has been recovered for forensic examination and we are particularly keen to trace the movements and occupants of the VW Transporter that we believe was involved."

It comes as shootings and violence are on the increase in the West Midlands with criminal gangs coming out of lockdown to "fight for territory", the region's police and crime commissioner warned.

David Jamieson was speaking after a series of street shootings in Birmingham, with at least three attacks in just two days.

He said: "We're now seeing the increase of violence on the streets.

"The gangs - they too are now coming out of lockdown.

"The gangs are fighting for territory, (they're) getting really quite bold."

Any witnesses or anyone with information can contact police via Live Chat on West Midland's website or call 101.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting reference 20BE/121156G/20.