Young robbers jailed for shop raid in which they shot at members of the public

 

Dominic Harris
Saturday 02 February 2013 10:13 GMT

Two teenage robbers who raided a jewellery store and then shot at members of the public as they gave chase have been jailed.

Momim Hassan, 17, and Tajwar Shah, 16, went armed with a hammer and a blank firing gun to Vinsons Jewellers in Station Road, Edgware, north London, on November 16 last year.

At 11.20am they went to the shop front, smashed a window with the hammer and tried to steal some of the jewellery on display.

But a female staff member challenged them and they got into a struggle, during which Shah fired the gun into the air.

Passers-by and other shop workers chased the pair down nearby Station Road and Shah turned his gun on them, firing in their direction.

The pursuers then spotted the two boys trying to change their clothes in a car park, and after another chase the pair were caught by members of the public, before being arrested by police.

Officers found a bag belonging to the teenagers which contained a stun gun and a key to a car parked nearby which had false number plates and had been taken from a relative of Shah's without them knowing.

Hassan, of Devonshire Road, Barnet, north London, and Shah, of St Edmunds Drive, Stanmore, north-west London, were jailed for four years and three-and-a-half years respectively at Wood Green Crown Court yesterday.

They had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to robbery and possession of an imitation firearm, Scotland Yard said.

Hassan also pleaded guilty to possessing a stun gun.

The pair were named after a judge lifted restrictions that prevented them being identified.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Constable Tim Fines, from the Flying Squad, said: "The judge has commended the bravery of those members of the public who pursued and detained these two males - I would like to reiterate this praise.

"Thanks to their efforts, and the efforts of officers who attended the scene, two dangerous males are behind bars."

PA

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