Birmingham riot gunmen video footage released

This is the moment gunmen opened fire on police as marauding gangs of looters brought chaos to the streets of the West Midlands, writes Crime Correspondent Mike Woods.

Chilling new footage shows mobs of hooded thugs rampaging through the streets of the region with at least one pausing and opening fire at a line of riot officers and the police helicopter. Click here to view the footage.

The video, released for the first time today, shows a gang of around 20 thugs hurling missiles at a passing police car as it speeds past.

One lights a petrol bomb as others pick up chairs and throw them into the A34 in Birmingham. Other metal chairs are used to smash windows at The Barton Arms pub on High Street, Aston.

Another camera on nearby Burlington Street then captures police in helmets and shields gathering nearby, as the thugs flee down the side street.

Some appear to taunt the lines of police, with many of the masked rioters carrying bricks or other missiles. But one stands still for two seconds, his legs apart, as he aims the gun at police. Others look on as he pulls the trigger, sending a puff of smoke into the air, before the gang flees.

Minutes later, footage from the West Midlands Police helicopter captures a gunman as he takes aim by a car parked in a street. The thermal imaging footage clearly shows him aim a weapon at the £5 million aircraft.

Police say at least one shot was fired before the gunman can be seen retreating.

The dramatic new video, taken at around midnight on the night of August 9 on a second night of serious trouble in Birmingham city centre, and hours after yobs ransacked shops in Wolverhampton city centre and in West Bromwich. Det Supt Tim Bacon said today: "This is being treated as attempted murder and we are asking the public for help. There are people out there who know who these people are."

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