Reluctance to help police hindering search for killers

As talk grows of victims being caught in crossfire of drugs war, police fear lack of local assistance

Detectives investigating the killing of two teenage girls caught in the crossfire of an apparent gang fight admit that their inquiry is being hampered by the reluctance of witnesses to come forward.

Either out of fear or resentment for the authorities, many who saw the Birmingham shootings in the early hours of Thursday have been unwilling to give statements.

Four cousins were gunned down. Two were killed while one remains seriously ill in hospital. Inseparable twins Charlene and Sophie Ellis, 18, were both shot outside a party at a hairdressers. Yesterday Charlene was dead while Sophie was under armed guard in hospital, in a stable condition following surgery.

Their cousin Latisha Shakespear, 17, was also killed while Cheryl Shaw, also 17, was discharged from hospital yesterday after receiving treatment for a wound to one hand.

In an incident described by police as unprecedented locally in its brutality, the four girls had stepped outside the ticketed party at "Uniseven Studio's", in the inner-city area of Aston, when they were caught in crossfire.

Last night, as their "absolutely traumatised" families struggled to come to terms with events, Detective Superintendent Dave Mirfield appealed for help.

"It is a sad fact that there is a reluctance from people to come forward – whether that is fear or whether that is reluctance to speak to the police, I don't know. Without community assistance our job is made that much harder."

Up to 100 revellers had been enjoying the party but most had fled by the time police arrived, he explained. So far police have spoken to about 25 people.

Last night speculation was increasing that the shooting may have been the result of a worsening turf war between drug gangs.

Khalid Mahmood, Labour MP for Perry Barr which takes in the area, said: "The boundary between the gangs runs right along the Birchfield Road and it's no coincidence that is why we are seeing a rise in clashes along that road." In the past year 57 people have been arrested in the area in connection with firearm offences.

Despite fear of retaliation, one officer said that there had been more cooperation from the community than was usual. "Locals are appalled that four teenage girls have been shot in this manner," he added.

Gleenreid Allen, whose son Corey, 28, was shot dead in what she believes was a gang-related incident two years ago, said: "These people have absolutely no regard for human life and it has got to stop. Here we have two girls who have been killed senselessly. How can you just go and kill randomly like that?"

Mrs Allen, a member of a group called Mothers Against Guns, added: "There is a mistrust [of the police] but if the community does not communicate with the police, then these gangs will keep killing."

Yesterday, relatives of Charlene and Sophie Ellis gathered at their home in the Lozells district of Birmingham, to comfort their mother Beverley Thomas.

Huler Henry, 40, a neighbour, said: "I had seen them both on the evening of the party. They were getting ready to go out to enjoy themselves. They were a happy pair of teenagers. My husband went round to see their mother yesterday and said she was devastated."

Latisha Shakespear's grandmother added: "We just can't understand how two innocent girls who went out to enjoy themselves got shot. They would have been so excited. She was my daughter's only child and it has left a gaping hole in our family."

The 17-year-old lived with her mother, a hairdresser, at their modern red-brick semi-detached house in Nechells, Birmingham.

A friend of Latisha's, Gavin Fyffe, 17, said: "She was always singing – she had a great voice. She loved R'n'B music, and she said she wanted to be a professional singer."

Sixty officers have been assigned to the murder hunt with extra armed officers patrolling the area. Yesterday the parade of shops remained sealed off as officers continued to search the area and search through CCTV footage. Post-mortem examinations were being carried out on the two dead girls.

Meanwhile, the Victims of Crime group and the Birmingham Evening Mail offered a reward totalling £10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killers.