At least eight shots were fired at police and officers dived for cover inside their van as trouble flared outside the Bartons Arms, in Newtown, in the early hours of Wednesday August, 10.
In a chilling development, the Birmingham Mail has now learned that detectives believe the helicopter was also shot at as it hovered overhead.
The aircraft was not thought to have been hit.
The hunt to trace the gunmen behind the shooting has now been given the highest priority.
Det Supt Tim Bacon, who is overseeing the investigation, said: “The actions of this group of men show a different type of criminality. Shots were fired at unarmed police officers and the police helicopter which were a clear threat to people’s lives.
“This is being treated as attempted murder and we are asking for the public’s help. There are people out there who know who these people were and we ask them to come forward.
“A major investigation is underway involving detectives, forensics and ballistic specialists.”
It happened as police responded to reports balaclava-clad thugs had smashed windows, stole booze and started fires inside the pub.
Pub managers Siriporn and Wichai Thumjaroen hid in their flat as an estimated 30 yobs, some said to be as young as 13, rampaged through their bar.
Officers were forced to duck down inside a vehicle after seeing flashes and hearing bangs they believed were gunshots as they responded to the couple’s plea for help.
The police helicopter is understood to have recorded what appeared to be the gun being fired as it tracked the group gathered outside the pub, from the air.
Four spent 9mm bullet casing were later found during a search of the area the following day by specialist forensic teams.
A number of bullets are understood to have been found in a nearby building. A further four cartridges were also found. All the ballistics material has been sent to a firearms forensic lab for examination to see if it is linked to any other shootings in the city.
More details were expected to be released today by the Chief Constable Chris Sims and Det Supt Tim Bacon.
It is not the first time the police helicopter has been targeted by crooks.
The previous £4 million Eurocopter model was torched in a firebomb attack in June 2009.
And the replacement model has repeatedly been hit by laser pens, the most recent at the weekend when a laser was shone from a car into the cockpit.
Officers tracked the black VW Golf through Halesowen, Quinton and into Edgbaston where it was stopped and three men arrested.
The chilling development marks a new low for the rioting that swept the streets of Birmingham and the Black Country earlier this week.
It indicates that organised gangs could have used the rioting as a cover to commit crime.
During the Lozells riots in October 2005, drugs gangs were feared to have “exploited and exacerbated” tensions between members of the black and Asian communities to grab more territory.
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Saturday 20 August 2011
ARMED rioters tried to shoot down the police helicopter as it filmed them on the rampage outside a ransacked Birmingham pub.
Noel Gallagher has said he believes "brutal TV and videogames" are partly to blame for the riots that have taken place this week.
The former Oasis mainman, whose brother Liam is estimated to have had £270,000 worth of clothes looted from his shop in Manchester during the riots, has called for more prisons to built in order to cope with the newly imprisoned rioters and told Bang Showbiz that he cannot "understand where the energy for the riots is coming from".
He said: I can't understand where their energy for these riots is coming from. We live in this age of violence - and I don't care what other people say: Brutal TV and brutal videogames are a reason for this pointless violence as well. The people are immune to violence, they are used to it. And if they get caught they aren't punished the right way. The prisons are already full? Then build new ones!
Police say rioters fired gunshots at unarmed officers and a police helicopter during this month's disturbances in the English city of Birmingham.
Police say rioters fired gunshots at unarmed officers and a police helicopter during this month's disturbances in the English city of Birmingham.
West Midlands Police released footage Saturday showing masked men firing shots during riots on Aug. 9.
The force said 11 shots were fired. Chief Constable Chris Sims called it "a concerted and organized attempt to kill or injure police officers."
Police also said they had arrested an eighth suspect over the deaths of three men run down by a car in Birmingham as they protected shops from looters.
Four people have already been charged with murdering Shazad Ali, Abdul Musavir and Haroon Jahan.
More than 1,300 people have been charged over the riots that flared in London and other English cities for four nights.
Thursday 11 August 2011
Incredibly traumatised': jumping woman identified
The woman who was photographed jumping from the window of a burning building during the London riots has been identified, British media reports say.
Monika Konczyk, 32, who arrived from Poland in March to learn English, was in her flat above a row of shops on Church Street, Croydon, in south London when fires broke out around her buildings about 9pm on Monday.
Her building rapidly filled up with thick smoke and, unable to escape via its back stairs, Ms Konczyk screamed for help from her window, said Vaz Juresco, the owner of a tattoo parlour next to her flat.
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"You have no idea - the smoke was like a thick cloud. It wasn't just ash but hot rocks and bits of brick. They were spraying out like a shower," he told The Guardian.
Ms Konczyk's sister, Beata Mecaj, initially told her sister to stay indoors after watching the riots unfold on television, but changed her mind and said she should get out.
"Beata and her husband then went to the flat to get her, but could not get into the flat as the furniture shop was on fire," her friend Aleksandra Robak told the Daily Mail.
"Monika didn't want to jump; she thought she was going to die. She was terrified and screaming at her sister that all of her things were in her flat and she didn't want to leave them. She was also very scared of jumping but Beata told her it's better to jump than to die."
Ms Konczyk's jump - into the arms of her rescuers below - was captured by WENN photographer Amy Weston. The image made the front pages of almost all of Britain's daily newspapers the following morning.
But while Ms Konczyk was not injured, Mrs Mecaj said her sister was "incredibly traumatised" by the experience and had become withdrawn.
"She is staying with me at the moment and I'm looking after her," she told the Mail.
"It will take a while for her to get over this. She only came to the UK a few months ago and we are appalled that something like this could happen here.
"We always thought this country was so civilised."
Ms Konczyk's boyfriend, Amar Sharabi, added that she was so stressed "she doesn't want to even leave the house"
Wednesday 10 August 2011
The father of a man murdered while trying to defend businesses from looters said his son was "trying to help the community".
Haroon Jahan, 21, died alongside two brothers after being hit by a car on Dudley Road in the Winson Green area of Birmingham in the early hours of this morning.
The two other victims have been named locally as Shezad Ali and Abdul Musavir.
Haroon's father Tariq said: "I heard a thud, ran round and saw three people on the ground."
My face was covered in blood, my hands were covered in blood.
Victim's father
"My instinct was to help the three people. I did not know who they were, who had been injured.
"I helped the first man and somebody told me my son was lying behind me so I started CPR on my own son.
"My face was covered in blood, my hands were covered in blood."
Resident Mohammed Abdullah was driving down the street when the incident happened.
"I saw two cars hit a number of people, who flew high up in the air", he said.
"I was driving directly behind them - I saw a silhouette of two bodies going up in the air and landing down".
At a news conference, Chief Constable of West Midlands Police Chris Sims, said one man had been arrested for murder "because the information we have would support that a car was deliberately driven".
Mr Sims appealed for more information from the public and revealed that Prime Minister David Cameron will be visiting the area later today.
Mr Sims said he was did not want a single incident to lead to "distrust" and "violence" between different communities
David Cameron's statement in full
'Since yesterday there are more police on the street, more people have been arrested and more people are being charged and prosecuted.
Last night there were around 16,000 police on the streets of London, and there is evidence a more robust approach to policing in London resulted in a much quieter night across the capital.
And let me pay tribute to the bravery of those police officers and indeed everyone working for our emergency services.
In total there have been 750 arrests in London since Saturday, with more than 160 people being charged.
Today, major police operations are under way as I speak to arrest the criminals who were not picked up last night but who were picked up on closed circuit television cameras.
Picture by picture, these criminals are being identified, arrested and we will not let any phoney concerns about human rights get in the way of the publication of these pictures and arrest of these individuals.
As I speak, sentences are also being passed, courts sat through the night last night and will do again tonight.
It is for the courts to sentence but I would expect anyone convicted of violent disorder will be sent to prison.
We needed a fight back and a fight back is under way.
We have seen the worst of Britain but I also believe we have seen some of the best of Britain: the million people who have signed up on Facebook to support the police; communities coming together in the clean-up operations.
But there is absolutely no room for complacency and there is much more to be done.
Overnight we saw the same appalling violence and thuggery that we have seen in London in new cities, including Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham.
In the West Midlands, three men were killed in a hit-and-run in Birmingham and the police are working round the clock to get to the bottom of what happened and bring the perpetrator to justice.
In Birmingham, over 160 arrests were made.
In Salford, up to 1,000 youths were attacking the police at the height of the disturbance.
Across Greater Manchester, more than 100 arrests were made and, in Nottinghamshire, Canning Circus police station was firebombed and over 80 arrests were made.
This continued violence is simply not acceptable and it will be stopped.
We will not put up with this in our country, we will not allow a culture of fear to exist on our streets.
Let me be clear, at Cobra this morning we agreed full contingency planning is going ahead.
Whatever resources the police need they will get, whatever tactics police feel they need to employ, they will have legal backing to do so.
We will do whatever is necessary to restore law and order on to our streets.
Every contingency is being looked at, nothing is off the table.
The police are already authorised to use baton rounds and we agreed at Cobra that while they are not currently needed, we now have in place contingency plans for water cannon to be available at 24 hours' notice.
It is all too clear that we have a big problem with gangs in our country. For too long there had been a lack of focus on the complete lack of respect shown by these groups of thugs.
I'm clear that they are in no way representative of the vast majority of young people in our country who despise them, frankly, as much as the rest of us do.
But there are pockets of our society that are not just broken but frankly sick.
When we see children as young as 12 and 13 looting and laughing, when we see the disgusting sight of an injured young man with people pretending to help him while they are robbing him, it is clear that there are things that are badly wrong with our society.
For me, the root cause of this mindless selfishness is the same thing I have spoken about for years.
It is a complete lack of responsibility in parts of our society, people allowed to feel the world owes them something, that their rights outweigh their responsibilities and their actions do not have consequences.
Well, they do have consequences.
We need to have a clearer code of standards and values that we expect people to live by and stronger penalties if they cross the line.
Restoring a stronger sense of responsibility across our society in every town, in every street, in every estate is something I am determined to do.
Tomorrow Cobra will meet again, Cabinet will meet, I will make a statement to Parliament, I'll set out in full the measures that we will take to help businesses that have been affected, to help rebuild communities, to help rebuild the shops and buildings that have been damaged, to make sure the homeless are rehoused, to help local authorities in all the ways that are necessary.
But today, right now, the priority is still clear: we will take every action necessary to bring order back to our streets.''
Celebrities have come out in force on Twitter to condemn the rioting in London and other cities and urge residents to help with the clean up operation.
Jessie J, Wayne Rooney and Stephen Fry are among the stars who have hit out at the gangs behind the violence on Twitter.
Footballer Wayne Rooney wrote: "These riots are nuts why would people do this to there own country. Own city. This is embarrassing for our country. Stop please."
TV and radio personality Dermot O'Leary had a positive message for his followers.
"Out and about this morning. Already seeing strangers being more considerate/friendly to each other. Makes me proud. #londonwillprevail".
Many have been urging residents to get out on the streets and help with the clean up operation.
Singer Jessie J tweeted: "Calling all #heartbeats please go to www.riotcleanup.com and see where you can help get London back to how we all deserve it to be. #riotcleanup".
Phillip Schofield was full of praise for the volunteers. "The best of what we can be. My respect to @Riotcleanup".
In a similar vein Stephen Fry wrote: "I do hope that if I was in London now I'd be as good & brave & kind as all those who are agreeing to meet & help clean up".
Prime Minister says flooding London with extra officers helped calm tensions, and water cannons will be available if trouble flares up again.
Prime Minister says flooding London with extra officers helped calm tensions, and water cannons will be available if trouble flares up again.
David Cameron has insisted a "fightback" by police helped quell unrest in London after a fourth night of rioting across the country.
The Prime Minister said a "more robust approach" by Scotland Yard on Tuesday night meant that there was less trouble than on previous nights.
Up to 16,000 officers were deployed in the capital after extra officers were drafted in from across the country. But ugly scenes of looting spread to Manchester, Nottingham and Birmingham.
Mr Cameron said water cannon will now be available to police at 24 hours notice if the violence that began on Saturday night flares up again, while the use of baton rounds was already authorised.
Speaking from Downing Street, the Prime Minister said 750 people had been arrested since Saturday, and 160 charged.
We needed a fightback, and a fightback is under way.
David Cameron
He said the Ministry of Justice had assured him there are resources in place to prosecute large numbers of people involved in the riots and jail those convicted of violent crime.
Mr Cameron said operations were going on to pick up suspects who had been identified using CCTV images.
Boris sparks police cuts row
The Prime Minister was forced to defend the Government's record on cuts to police budgets after the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said the rioting had "substantially weakened" the case for cutting funding.
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary has suggested around 16,200 police officers will be axed - along with 1,800 community support officers and 16,100 police staff, as a result of the Government's spending cuts drive.
Mr Cameron said: "Mayors and local authorities always want more money. It is the Government's job to give them what they need." He said police chiefs had told him at Wednesday morning's meeting of the Cobra emergency committee that forces have the resources they need.
Labour called for a rethink of the cuts, with Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper saying: "This is further evidence that the Tory-led Government needs to urgently rethink its cuts to police officers and police budgets. Now is not the time to cut over 16,000 police officers across the country."
Both Ms Cooper and former Labour mayor of London Ken Livingstone accused Mr Johnson of hypocrisy, saying he had presided over a reduction in police numbers in the capital.
Home Secretary Theresa May has insisted the budget cuts will go ahead, and Mr Cameron made no mention of a U-turn, despite saying: "We will not do anything that will reduce the amount of visible policing on our streets."
Mr Cameron added: "We needed a fightback, and a fightback is under way.
"We have seen the worst of Britain, but I also believe we have seen some of the best of Britain - the million people who have signed up on Facebook to support the police, coming together in the clean-up operations."
Many of the looters have not bothered to cover their faces as they raided electrical stores, sports shops and off-licences.
Many in the UK are reeling after days of images of brazen thefts and wanton damage during the riots, but just where is the tipping point when people think they can start looting?
There have been some extraordinary scenes in London and other cities this week, from burning buildings and running street battles, to people unashamedly walking into a shop and leaving with a flat-screen television under their arms.
Many of the looters have not bothered to cover their faces as they raided electrical stores, sports shops and off-licences.
Some have even posed for a picture afterwards, proudly showing off their haul and posting the images on social-networking sites.
Prof John Pitts, a criminologist who advises several London local authorities on young people and gangs, says some of those taking the lead in the looting will be known to the authorities, while others are swept along.
Rioters have set fire to cars and buses
He says looting makes "powerless people suddenly feel powerful" and that is "very intoxicating".
"The world has been turned upside down. The youngsters are used to adults in authority telling them they cannot do this or this will happen. Then they do it and nothing happens."
He says a large number of youngsters are involved in these riots because it is the school holidays and the nights are longer.
Numbers are all important in a riot and the tipping point comes when the rioters feel in control, he adds.
"You cannot riot on your own. A one-man riot is a tantrum. At some point the bigger crowds confronting the police realise that they are in control."
Psychopathic tendencies
Psychologists argue that a person loses their moral identity in a large group, and empathy and guilt - the qualities that stop us behaving like criminals - are corroded.
Continue reading the main story
A social psychologist's view
For most people looting is opportunistic. And greed is certainly a factor.
But some people approach this situation not necessarily with bad intentions. They are swept away by the crowd, for a variety of reasons highlighted by social psychologists.
One concept is called deindividuation. Normally people's behaviour is guided by their own identity and values, which tell us to not do certain things - like taking things without paying for them.
But in some situations they take on the values of the group. Our own internal values and norms become less salient.
The second idea is called emergent norm theory. Most of these people have probably not been in a riot like this one before. They are unsure of what the appropriate behaviour is.
So they look at what other people are doing. And if other people are doing this, it suggests it's normal. Or at least maybe it is something that I can get away with.
Source: Jason Nier, associate professor of psychology, Connecticut College, speaking to BBC World Service
"Morality is inversely proportional to the number of observers. When you have a large group that's relatively anonymous, you can essentially do anything you like," according to Dr James Thompson, honorary senior lecturer in psychology at University College London.
"Part of that is down to safety in numbers. There may only be 20 or 30 people who are leading the trouble but the presence of several hundred onlookers makes it far less likely they'll get caught."
He rejects the notion that some of the looters are passively going with the flow once the violence has taken place, insisting there is always a choice to be made.
Watching people getting away with it can act as a motivation for others to start looting, says psychologist Dr Lance Workman.
"Humans are the best on the planet at imitating. And we tend to imitate what is successful. If you see that people are walking out of a shop with a widescreen TV and trainers, a certain kind of person thinks why shouldn't I do that?"
Workman argues that some of those taking part may adopt an ad hoc moral code in their minds - "these rich people have things I don't have so it's only right that I take it".
But there's evidence to suggest that gang leaders tend to have psychopathic tendencies, he says.
This idea of a mob mentality can be found in football hooliganism. Former Manchester United hooligan Tony O'Reilly, says there is a similarity between this week's looting and the football violence he took part in for three decades.
It boils down to the buzz, he says. "It's an excitement. You can't take away that thrill - the roar of the crowd. That sense of a group of men, something's happening."
For most, the motivation is the thrill, with the "free stuff" just a bonus. But not for the ringleaders who manipulate the mob to target high-value shops.
He recalls a rampage through Swiss Cottage in the 1980s when Manchester United fans ended up looting a jewellery store. "The mob itself wasn't looking for jewellers but a few of the bright criminals used the mob and bystanders and the mob joined in because of the buzz."
'Just thuggery'
For law-abiding citizens setting fire to a bus or stealing from a shop is simply unthinkable. But academics say socio-economic factors cannot be left out of the equation.
Dr Paul Bagguley, a sociologist at the University of Leeds, says young men are usually engaged in confrontation with the police, while looters tend to include young children and women.
Shops and homes have been damaged
"It's very likely that a lot of people stealing the stuff would not have done it before. There's a sense in these situations that the normal rules don't apply."
He says while looting occurs in most riots, it has dominated this week and they could be called the "consumer society riots".
"If you compare it to the riots in the 1980s, there's a lot more stuff you can loot easily, such as portable electronic gadgets, mobile phones and flatscreen TVs.
"For a lot of looters, it's just opportunity but it also expresses a sense of how else am I going to get a hold of these things?"
Prof Pitts says riots are complex events and cannot be explained away as "just thuggery".
The Prime Minister said water cannon – until now only ever seen in the UK in Ulster - will be available at 24 hours notice
to deal with the “despicable violence” being carried out in cities across the country.
And in a sign that other more draconian crowd control measures will now be at the disposal of the police he said: “We will do whatever is necessary. Nothing is off the table.”
In his strongest comments yet on the perpetrators of the violence, Mr Cameron said: “There are pockets of our society that are not only broken, but frankly sick...It is a complete lack of responsibility in parts of our society, people allowed to feel that the world owes them something.”
Water cannons have been used this summer by police in Ulster and have been a regular sight at disturbances in the province. But despite calls for it to be used on the mainland – including after last year’s student riots in London – ministers have always ruled it out.
Mr Cameron spoke after chairing a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee. He rebutted criticisms from Boris Johnson about proposed cuts in police numbers. The London Mayor today caused anger in Downing Street by saying London’s police strength should not be lessened.