Jewellery Quarter bar Acapella forced to close after man shot at packed event in Birmingham

A popular city centre bar has been forced to close after a man was shot in the leg during a packed event last weekend.

It happened at Acapella bar in the Jewellery Quarter at around 3am on Sunday, December 10. Police officers were only made aware of the shooting when the victim arrived at hospital. Staff at the premises on Frederick Street also made an effort to clean up the crime scene prior to police turning up.

A Birmingham City Council licensing report reads: “A person had brought a handgun into the Acapella premises whilst it was open. The firearm was then discharged inside the premises, causing a serious injury to a person (on the leg). This was a serious crime, by virtue of the potential maximum sentence on conviction being life imprisonment. It was the advice of the police that a complete absence of management control had led to the incident; of particular note was the suggestion that nobody from the premises had alerted the police.

"In fact, the matter had only come to police attention when the injured party arrived at hospital after the incident. The police advised that they had been told that the discharge of the firearm had occurred ‘in a raised area upstairs at the premises’. Furthermore, the police officers who attended to investigate noted that those at Acapella appeared to have cleaned up the crime scene in advance of their arrival.”

The report added: “Overall, the police had no confidence whatsoever in the premises’ ability to prevent further serious crime. It was the police’s recommendation that the incident had been so serious, and the risk to the upholding of the crime prevention objective so grave, that specific interim steps were required.”

Acapella hosted an exclusive party last weekend prior to the shooting. West Midlands Police Sergeant Mark Swallow confirmed that the gun used “is still in public circulation”. He said: “This is a serious crime which occurred only a couple of days ago. It’s a live police inquiry where a firearm has been discharged and that firearm is still in public circulation.”

Acapella bar owner Seyhmus Ozedemir failed to attend licensing hearing

Acapella bar has been forced to close with immediate effect. The owner of the bar, Seyhmus Ozedemir, also failed to attend the licensing hearing this week, December 12. Birmingham City Council has ordered Mr Ozedemir to be removed as the designated premises supervisor.

In a statement issued on their social media pages on Wednesday, December 13, a spokesman for Acapella bar said: “Hi everyone, we are sorry to say that due to an incident that took place on Frederick Street on December 9 / early hours of Sunday morning, we have been advised to close until further police guidance has been given. It is in the interest of public safety around the area. We can’t wait to hopefully be open soon and see you all again before Christmas. Thank you for your patience and understanding.”

It is expected that Acapella will remain closed until a full review hearing which is set to take place on Monday, January 8, 2024. West Midlands Police, meanwhile, say they’re still investigating the shooting. A spokesman said: “We’re investigating after gun shots were fired in Frederick Street at around 3am on December 10. A man, who is understood to have been in the area at the time, presented at hospital a short time later with a leg wound which is thankfully not serious.

"We’ve also received a report of a collision involving two cars in Frederick Street and we’re working to establish exactly what happened. We’re in the early stages of our investigations and are in the process of carrying out CCTV and other enquiries. We’ve stepped up patrols in the area and anyone with information is asked to contact us via Live Chat on our website, or by calling 101, and quote log 536 of 10/12/23.”