Feeding friends exchange gunfire, stabbing in horror violence outside church

This was the dramatic moment shots were fired and violence erupted in a Birmingham church car park when two former friends clashed with deadly weapons. Gunman Awais Ahmed, 21, was stabbed with a machete as he opened fire on 19-year-old Antroye Coley, hitting him once in the chest on June 26 last year.

West Midlands Police’s Major Crime Unit launched an investigation into the violence – but it was not immediately clear who was involved or exactly where it took place. Detectives watched more than 1,000 hours of CCTV footage to establish that Ahmed and Coley had a chance meeting on Alum Rock Road at around 11.50pm.

Ahmed, 21, quickly left the scene in a Seat Leon. Detectives believe he took a gun from a car parked on nearby Clipston Road.

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Coley also decided to arm himself, bringing a machete from his home on Blossom Grove, Hodge Hill. He went looking for Ahmed around the Alum Rock area before finding him in Seat in Christ Church car park on Burney Lane, Ward End.

The parking lot was a familiar hangout between Ahmed and his friends. Coley and Junior Losinho, who drove him there, were caught on CCTV getting out of the Citroen, the glint of a machete visible in Coley’s hands.

The men were seen pulling up to Ahmed and his friend, Aman Baig, who were staying in Leon. A flash of lightning was then seen from behind the car as Ahmed opened fire with a gun – hitting Coley in the chest.

Coley stabbed Ahmed with the machete before stumbling and escaping with Losinho. The injured men were driven to Heartlands Hospital by their friends.

But as the injured men entered separately, Ahmed’s friends spotted Coley and took him to Municipal Hospital. Reporting restrictions meant that details of the case could only be revealed for the first time today, Wednesday 22 May.

Ahmed, of Burney Lane, was jailed for 24 years at Birmingham Crown Court after being found guilty of wounding with intent and possessing a firearm with intent. Baig, 22, of Clipston Road, was jailed for seven years for possessing a firearm. Losinho, 21, and Coley, 19, both of Blossom Grove, Hodge Hill, admitted wounding Ahmed and will be sentenced at a later date.

Det Insp Francis Nock, of West Midlands Police, said: “This has been appalling violence involving deadly weapons on the streets of Birmingham. We don’t know the motivation behind what happened.

“We believe that Ahmed and Coley were previously friends, but they argued to such an extent that they were willing to harm each other. When the men arrived at the hospital, none of them were prepared to say what happened, so they had to work backwards, starting with the hospital’s CCTV, to establish exactly what happened and where.

“CCTV has played a crucial role in building strong cases against all involved. The investigation began with very little information, but has become much clearer thanks to the recovery of a painstaking examination of more than 1,000 hours of footage.

“It meant those involved had no choice but to admit they were present when the violence broke out.”