Man in his 50s shot dead in attempted warehouse robbery in Birmingham

Officers attending the scene found 56-year-old Akhtar Javeed with a serious gunshot wound

Police believe two masked men were involved in the attempted robbery at Direct Source 3 Ltd on Rea Street (Google Maps)

A man in his 50s has been shot dead in an attempted robbery at a warehouse in Digbeth, Birmingham.

West Midlands police believe two masked men were involved in the attempted robbery at Direct Source 3 Ltd on Rea Street, near the junction with MacDonald Street, on Wednesday evening.

Officers attending the scene found 56-year-old Akhtar Javeed with a serious gunshot wound. He was taken to hospital but pronounced dead a short time later.

Police have launched a murder investigation. A postmortem examination will take place later.

Acting DCI Martin Slevin said: "At this early stage we believe this was a targeted robbery attempt at the business premises in Rea Street South, near to the junction with MacDonald Street.

"It happened at a time when other people may have been leaving work for the day and someone may have seen what happened or have important information about the suspects.

"If you have any information that could help our investigation, please get in touch as soon as possible."

Anyone with information is urged to contact West Midlands police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.