Man Convicted of Attempted Murder in Drive-by Shooting at Wake

An individual who discharged a firearm at rival gang members present at a wake has been found guilty of attempted murder. During the incident in the Lozells area of Birmingham in February 2023, three men sustained injuries, and a young girl was severely hurt after being crushed in the ensuing chaos. Meshaq Berryman’s conviction followed a three-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court earlier in 2024, a detail that can now be disclosed, with his sentencing scheduled for December. Testimony presented in court indicated that the shooting was not arbitrary but rather “part of a plan to kill.” The funeral service was for Akeem Bailey, aged 19, who had been fatally stabbed in October 2022. Law enforcement officials stated that Bailey had no gang affiliations, yet Berryman had grounds to believe that gang members would be in attendance. Detective Inspector Francis Knock commented that it was purely fortuitous that the incident did not result in a triple murder. He stated: “Street gang rivalry has been going on on the streets of Birmingham for many years now unfortunately.” Surveillance camera footage captured the commotion among the attendees as gunfire erupted from a vehicle driving past, which then rapidly departed. Det Insp Knock characterized the scene as “harrowing.” He added: “They’re there to commemorate the life of a loved one or an associate. And if you can possibly expect one place where you would be able to do so in peace, it should be at a wake after a funeral.” A separate individual was acquitted following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court in October, which permits the reporting of Berryman’s trial outcome at this time. West Midlands Police ranks fourth in England and Wales for gun crime, having documented 576 firearm offences in 2023-24, based on the most recent Home Office statistics. Law enforcement personnel retrieved 152 firearms in 2023, an increase from 121 in the preceding year, following the implementation of a new strategy to combat gun crime. Data indicated 92 shooting incidents occurred throughout the region last year, in contrast to 126 the year prior. The police force’s armory, situated at an undisclosed site, currently houses thousands of weapons, among them sawn-off shotguns, homemade shotguns referred to as slam guns, antique revolvers, rifles, handguns, and crossbows. A portion of the seized weaponry comprises reactivated firearms. Gareth Cooper, a ballistic material examiner for West Midlands Police, stated: “We see some firearms used on the street which are made to be viable firearms – former military weapons or restored antique weapons. We also see converted blank firers. So weapons that are produced not to fire projectiles but are adapted to do so.” He further mentioned that the force’s intelligence operations are continuously engaged in efforts to pinpoint the importation of firearms into the West Midlands area. For updates, follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X, and Instagram. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our external linking policy is available.