By james art Family and friends were grieving a knife crime victim when they were shot at
A gunman has been found guilty of attempted murder at a Birmingham wake.
Mourners were attending the wake of a seventeen-year-old victim of knife crime when they were shot at.
Four shots were fired, injuring four, including a fourteen-year-old girl.
A 19-year-old man was shot in the chest and another man of the same age was shot in the left leg.
An 18-year-old man was hit in the right knee, while a 14-year-old girl was injured when she was knocked down and trampled as people ran from the gunfire.
The drive-by shooting happened around 6 p.m. on February 23, 2023.
Mourners had gathered at St Mary’s Church Hall in Hamstead Road, Lozells, in memory of Akeem Bailey, 17, who was stabbed to death in October 2022.
Meshack Berriman has been identified as the gunman who opened fire from the rear passenger seat of the vehicle.
Another man was acquitted of three attempted murders today after a trial that began earlier this month at Birmingham Crown Court.
Berryman was found guilty of three counts of attempted murder after a three-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
He previously admitted possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and cannabis after more than 40 packages of the drugs, along with digital scales, were found at his home.
Detective Inspector Francis Nock, from West Midlands Police’s Serious Crime Squad, said: “This was a targeted shooting at a gathering of people who had come to pay their respects to a young man who had lost his own life in violent crime.
“While the young man who died had no gang affiliations, Berryman believed there would be gang-related individuals after him.
“This could easily have been a triple homicide investigation and it’s really lucky people weren’t killed that night.
“We have involved a huge number of officers in the investigation to ensure we have a really clear picture of what happened.
“Video surveillance, cell phone and forensic evidence put Berryman in the car at the time the shots were fired and he now faces many years behind bars.
“Gun crime causes absolute misery for the families of those who are injured or killed and can strike fear into the residents whose neighborhoods are affected.
“Our major crime teams work with local officers to build a clear picture of who is involved in gun crime in an area and take decisive action to get them off the streets and behind bars,” Nock said .
Berryman is scheduled to be sentenced on December 6, 2024.