Bravery of schoolgirl caught in crossfire during Wolverhampton shooting - who gave evidence at trial
A brave schoolgirl who was injured when rival gangs fired shots in a Wolverhampton street has been praised by the senior detective leading the complicated case.
The girl was out enjoying herself with friends at a play park in Shelley Road, Fordhouses near Bushbury on May 1 when she and a 15-year-old boy were struck by stray bullets. They were victims of a feud between rival criminal groups.
Both thankfully survived their ordeal after being struck by bullets sprayed from a stolen Ford Focus driving past the park and containing Tireq McIntosh, Martinho De Sousa, both 23, and Kian Durnin, aged 22.
The youngster, who needed surgery on her wounded leg, gave evidence by video at the trial of shooters who were all found guilty after a jury trial of two counts of attempted murder, and a count each of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving.
West Midlands Police’s Detective Inspector Francis Nock, of the Major Crime Team, said it was clear from the outset that the case would present a huge challenge to investigate as the defendants wore face coverings on the day of the incident creating identification issues.
He said up to 80 officers worked to crack the case across various disciplines and at various stages involving tens of thousands of hours, not including the armed officers shifts.
“Using advanced technology, painstaking methods and other resources at our disposal we were able to recover over 2,000 hours of CCTV footage tracking the offence, the vehicle’s movements and that of the suspects.
