Da UK On-line Urban Magazine

Weeks after West Midlands Police issued a statement claiming they were winning the war on gun crime, two hand held pistols and a shotgun were used by a gang to hold up a local supermarket in Winson Green, Birmingham.

Four armed robbers wearing balaclavas charged into ‘Neeza’s local shop waving around the deadly weapons on Monday afternoon. Three of them held the cashier at gun point and ordered him to empty the shops the till, while the fourth member of the gang beat him around the ribs with an iron bar. The gang were furious that the shop’s till only contained £200 so they stole a customer’s handbag before they took off running out of the shop. The cashier, who was left, suffering from minor injuries, did not request hospital treatment.

Shop co-owner Rav Garcha told the Birmingham Mail: “They didn’t get away with much at all. They stole £200 in cash and some cigarettes, it was petty and we don’t know why they targeted us. They were armed for a major raid and obviously expected to get more.” “It’s a major worry for the area that people are using guns now.” ‘‘The staff are all very afraid and we have had to beef up the store security. We’ve spoken to a couple of private security firms and will now be taking action to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” Detectives are now searching for the armed robbers who were described as black and in their early twenties.

A source from Winson Green told Supatrax: “Police keep telling us crime has fallen. When in reality only the number of reported crimes has fallen because most people in the inner city are too scared to go to the police.” “The police spend years of work, and lots of council tax money to put high profile gang members behind bars only for there to be a new wave of even badder youngsters to follow them. “ “It’s come to the point where 15 year old boys are taking more gangsters of the streets than the police by trying to kill the older members of rival gangs. It’s a vicious cycle.”

Do you think Birmingham inner city streets are safer? If not - How can they be made a better place to live and make you feel safer?