A man was injured close to The Lanes Shopping Centre
A manhunt is underway to find a gunman responsible for the shooting of a man in a busy Sutton Coldfield street.
The shooting incident took place in Birmingham Road in the Wylde Green area of the town, near to The Lanes Shopping Centre, at around 7.30am on Friday (October 24).
A man in his 30s was shot and taken to hospital with police saying his condition is ‘not believed to be life-threatening’.
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Eyewitnesses reported hearing ‘three bangs’ or thuds which they later realised were gun shots.
Police attended the scene and placed a large cordon in place along Birmingham Road from Little Green Lanes, at the edge of the shopping centre, to just before The Hawthorns Surgery, a GP practice which has a Little Ripley children’s nursery at the back.
Traffic and pedestrians were stopped from going down the road, which is the main route from Sutton Coldfield town centre to Erdington and on to Birmingham city centre.
What investigations have taken place?
Detectives carried out house to house enquiries and at around 3pm a police search team arrived in a van and then carried out detailed searches of a pavement and road area, close to a parked Porsche car.
The Porsche appeared to be of interest with teams searching around and under it, at one stage setting off the car’s alarms.
Also trapped in the cordon was a lorry with a digger and roller vehicle, but that was eventually driver away by its driver shortly after 3.30pm.
Police officers dressed all in black and from West Midlands Police’s Operational Support Unit carried out a careful search along Birmingham Road in Wylde Green, Sutton Coldfield, looking for clues following a shooting What did residents hear?
A worker at the One Stop convenience store said she heard ‘three loud bangs’.
She indicated that the police did not arrive immediately but said she did not see anymore with the incident appearing to be further along Birmingham Road past the Emmanuel Church and towards Sutton town centre.
One resident told BirminghamLive: “it’s just unsettling, it’s just a shock really.
“My boys were close to going off to school when this happened and my wife has said to collect them at the end of the school day.
“This sort of thing doesn’t happen here.”
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Another said: “I went out at 8 this morning to take my son to school and the road was still open.
“On the way back the buses were stopped and there was traffic around 8.15 but I managed to get onto my drive.
“It’s a bit weird. It’s just shocking but I didn’t hear a thing.”
While a third resident living close to the cordon said she heard a ‘tut tut tut’ sound – like bangs but with no echo.
She said “I just couldn’t make it out. It was nothing like screeching.
“Then I said to my husband it felt like it was a shooting sound.” She has lived in the area for more than 30 years and “not seen anything like this.”
A National Express bus was among the vehicles caught in the cordon put in place in Birmingham Road, Wylde Green, Sutton Coldfield, following the shooting
And a couple that lived very close to the area of Birmingham Road which appeared to be the focus of the police’s attention said: “It was ‘mayhem’
“I heard four loud bangs and then the police arrived.”
They adde: “You don’t expect it in Sutton Coldfield.
“It’s such a nice area to live. It’s too close to home.”
Others spoke of their shock that this shooting could happen in the area saying it was ‘uncharacteristic’.
Police search officers paid particular attention to a Porsche at the side of Birmingham Road and even set the vehicle’s alarm off while searching by it Road closure
Buses had to be diverted around the cordon as did traffic, with a number of vehicles having to do U-turns as they reached the blocked road.
That included three police cars on blue lights and sirens, seemingly unaware of this incident, ambulances on emergency calls, a bus full of school children and the city council’s Mobile Library.
The Lanes Shopping Centre remained open during the incident as did nearby Wylde Green Primary School.
The total closure in Birmingham Road was lifted shortly after 6.30pm.
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How to report information
West Midlands Police said it has set up a dedicated website where people can post mobile and dashcam footage and post any other information.
A spokesperson for the force had earlier said: “We’re investigating after a man was shot near Sutton Coldfield this morning.
“It happened near The Lanes Shopping Centre on Birmingham Road, Wylde Green, at around 7.30am.
“The victim, in his 30s, was taken to hospital where his condition is not believed to be life-threatening.
“We have a large police presence in the area and, drivers should find alternative routes.
“The investigation is at an early stage, and anyone with information is asked to get in touch via 101 quoting log 667.”