Shock among residents at shooting on 'quiet and peaceful' Wolverhampton street as man suffers 'potentially life-changing' injuries
Residents living in a quiet part of Wolverhampton have spoken of their shock after shots were fired in a street, leaving a man with 'potentially life-changing' injuries.
The area around Birchwood Road and Westbourne Road in Penn was a police scene on Wednesday night after the incident, which saw a man in his 30s left with life-changing injuries after a firearm was discharged.
There was a police cordon in place on Westbourne Road, Birchwood Road and Sandringham Avenue throughout the night, while police cars could be seen at all ends of the cordon, with the road closed until around 11.30am on Thursday.
During Thursday morning, there was a large and visible police police presence, with officers checking the grassland opposite the site of the shooting, as well as front gardens and drives on the roads around the area.
The incident has been met with surprise and shock among residents living in the Penn area, which is a traditionally quiet and affluent area of Wolverhampton.
One resident, who didn't want to be named, said he was shocked to hear about such a violent act in his area.
He said: "I've lived here for about six years and, in that time, I think one schoolkid has thrown a can into my garden and that's been it.
"I didn't see what happened and I've just been told what went on, which is really shocking and I can't believe it could happen around here."
Another resident, who didn't want to be named, said that while it was a shock to hear about it, he said it was an example of how society was going.
He said: "I've lived here since 1978 and I've never heard of anything like this as it's usually such a quiet area, apart from traffic from people passing through.
"Sadly, I think it's the way society is going, with people getting hold of guns and weapons, and I'm just sad that it's happened on my doorstep."
A third resident, who also didn't want to be named, said he had heard about an incident, but had only just learned of the shooting.
He said: "I didn't see what happened and all I'd heard was that there had an incident of some kind, so it's a huge shock to find out there's been a shooting nearby.
"It's bad because this is such a nice and quiet area and I'd never heard of anything like this happening before."
A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: "We are investigating after a gun was fired in a street in Wolverhampton.
"We were called to Westbourne Road just before 6.30pm yesterday (Wednesday), following reports of a firearms discharge.
"A man in his 30s was injured and is being treated at hospital with potential life-changing injuries.
"We are reviewing CCTV footage and carrying out enquiries to identify who was responsible.
"We’ll have a police presence in the area and we’d ask anyone who has any information, or dash cam footage, to contact us.
"You can get in touch via Live Chat on our website or by calling 101, quoting 4329 of 18 December.
"Information can also be given to the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Tell them what you know, not who you are."