Birmingham: Once again there has been a shooting in Birmingham. This incident took place yesterday inside DFC chicken on Rookery road. The police are currently investigating the matter. Thank God! no one was harmed. This could have gone out of hand and resulted in casualties.
The police have reported a number of people using firearms likely to be members from different gangs. Our public services have to unfortunately deal with this crisis. These people are selfish and will not hesitate in taking people’s lives.
A gang member will not be afraid of killing as it makes them feel in power and control. Gang members want to claim territory and to do this they will go to any extent. From my experience and studies in gang and youth violence I have learnt that if these matters are not resolved they can get out of hand quickly and result in deaths.
I urge the councillors and local MPs to get in touch with me, Zain and the Handsworth Neighbourhood so we can come up with ideas on how we can tackle this as a community. Unfortunately, these are unprecedented times and the community is already under a lot of
stress due to Covid-19. I have been contacted by many people who have been frightened with this incident and need reassurance from the local authorities.
I urge the local councillors, MPs and the police to take this matter seriously. I humbly request the council to ask the police to do patrol in the area and re-assure the residents. I drove past the road today and did not see any police presence.
I strongly believe that we have a great police force in Handsworth and understand that due to Covid-19 the police force is stretched. However, I urge the police crime commissioner to deploy more police
officers to patrol Rookery road which has become a crime hotspot.
I think after the lockdown ends there should be a campaign set up to tackle gun crime in Handsworth especially Rookery road.
I am willing to design posters that can be put up in the community in shops, buses and billboards. I believe we need to use all the means at our disposal to engage the youth. The youth may not want to engage with the police in uniform.Therefore, the police need to work with us to build relationships with the young people.
I understand Birmingham City Council will be under a lot of financial strain however I urge the council not to cut youth services and instead invest more in these critical services. These are key services that will help us in the fight of reducing knife and gun crime among our
youth today.
I would like to work with the police and Birmingham council so we can set up projects to engage with the community when the lock-down ends. I have done a lot of work with young people including mindfulness workshops. I would like to make a video which can engage the young people. This could include artists such as rappers in the video to make it engaging to young people.
I would like to use different forms of media to get the message across so that people can put their knives and guns away. I would like to set up outreach programmes such as sports events like boxing and more mindfulness workshops. If you would like to fund me with my projects please do contact me.
West Midlands Police said: “We’re appealing for information after gun shots were fired in a shop in Handsworth yesterday (20 April).
“We were called to reports of three men chasing a group of others into DFC Chicken, in Rookery Road, just before 6 pm. “Shots were fired and the trio of offenders fled. “The other group – which consisted of up to six men – had also left before officers arrived and no-one has reported any injuries.”It is believed to have been a targeted attack between different groups and CCTV enquiries are under way.”
Mr Khalid Hussain Youth Gang Violence Specialist
Read More: https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/watch-gunmen-shoot-handsworth-takeaway-18125132
Updates: https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/schoolboy-among-four-arrested-after-18130311
