Armed teen head-butted police sergeant in bid to escape
A police officer was head-butted when a handcuffed teenager - who was found to have a loaded gun in his bag - tried to escape as he was led to a police van.
Police asked the 19-year-old to stop outside William Hill bookmakers as part of a crack-down on drug dealing in the area, but the man jumped on his bike and cycled away.
His escape attempts were foiled by two plain-clothed police officers who were approaching Birmingham's Newtown Shopping Centre from the opposite direction, and the teen was handcuffed on the floor.
As he was led away to the police van the man made escape attempt number two, head-butting a sergeant in his bid to escape.
The teenager was arrested at around 5pm yesterday afternoon for assaulting a police officer in the execution of their duty and a subsequent search uncovered a handgun concealed inside his bag.
When specialists from West Midlands Police's Firearms Unit examined the weapon, they found it was loaded with four rounds of live ammunition.
The man remains in custody today, where he is being questioned on suspicion of firearms and drugs offences, as well as assaulting a police officer.
The 32-year-old officer who was head-butted suffered swelling to his eye, but did not go to hospital and continued with his shift.
The weapon will be forensically examined by the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS) in due course to see if it is linked to any offences across the region.
Chief Inspector Chris Mallett, from Birmingham Police, said: "This was an absolutely fantastic arrest of someone who is clearly a very dangerous individual.
"Anyone who walks around with a loaded hand gun in their bag poses a potentially deadly risk to everyone in society and I'm glad we've been able to take it off the streets.
"Gun crime is the big talking point at the moment because of the devastation it's caused over recent months and I want the public to know we are taking robust action to end the violence."
Chief Insp. Mallett added: "Considering the lethal weapon this man had in his bag at the time of his arrest, the police officer who was injured was lucky to have only suffered a black eye.
"None of the officers involved could have known the extent of the danger they were in at the time and events like these show the risks police face on a daily basis."
