Birmingham teenagers convicted of shooting a boy in Hockley

Two teenagers involved in shooting a boy in the leg in Birmingham have been jailed.

Kyrony Richards, 19, was in Clissold Street in Hockley on July 7 last year, where he and his co-defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, shot another teenager in the leg.

The 19-year-old had just got off a bus nearby where he was approached by a group. They surrounded him and asked if he was in a gang, to which he replied he was not.

At this point, they shot him in the leg before fleeing. He managed to make it to a nearby house, where the police and ambulance service were called. The teen sustained serious injuries to his leg including possible nerve damage. Richards was tracked down by officers investigating from CCTV and mobile phone data and was arrested and interviewed a week later. He answered no comment to all the questions put before him.

Richards and his co-defendant both pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and wounding. His co-defendant also pleaded guilty to an additional charge of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life for a second incident on the same day.

The pair were jailed at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday (September 29) where they were sentenced. Richards received a nine-year sentence while his co-defendant was given six and a half years to run consecutively with another sentence for manslaughter.

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: “We recently launched #OpTarget - a campaign against organised crime across the West Midlands. Nationally, organised crime is seen as one of the greatest threats to communities because of the harmful effect it can have on everyone.

“West Midlands Police is specifically working to identify criminals involved in serious organised crime and bring them to justice, while preventing people from falling victim to some of their traumatic or harmful crimes.”