TikTok gangsters armed with homemade ‘slam guns’ turn UK city into warzone where even funerals descend into bloodbaths

YOUNG teens brag of spilling humor “like vimto”, portion criminals spray a ceremonial aftermath with bullets and cops observe a loaded limb hanging from a fence.

This is the world of beingness connected the streets of Birmingham, wherever gangs are waging warfare with pistols and shotguns.

The metropolis is Britain’s fig 1 hotspot for constabulary firearms operations arsenic weapons flood the West Midlands.

Experts accidental gangs are dragging kids arsenic young arsenic 10 into thoroughfare warfare arsenic they widen their scope beyond accepted postcode territories, recruiting caller members done societal media and drill rap.

One ex-gang subordinate told The Sun: “Guns are everywhere.

“Parts of Birmingham are similar a ghetto and it’s each astir who you know. Weapons aren’t that hard to get clasp of if you cognize the close people.

“Once you’ve got them you amended beryllium prepared to usage them due to the fact that everyone knows you’re carrying and it makes you a people for different gangs.”

One insider claimed that gangs are joining airdrome unit and moving their mode up arsenic portion of weapon smuggling operations.

The quality root said: "There are precise fewer ways to get weapons into the UK and it's not casual truthful it pays for the gangs to person airdrome unit successful their pockets.

"At the utmost end, much respectable looking pack members are joining information unit astatine airports and waving guns through.

"The West Midlands is rife with weapons."

Shocking CCTV footage released earlier this period amusement conscionable however commonplace guns person go successful Birmingham aft balaclava-clad thugs fired a shotgun astatine unit successful a machine store during a brazen daylight raid.

The pack smashed their mode into the store successful Smethwick, 4 miles westbound of the metropolis centre, with axes earlier shooting a antheral successful the limb successful January 2023.

Getaway operator Jamal Hussain, 22, of Walsall, fled the state aft the raid but was collared astatine Birmingham airdrome connected his instrumentality successful May this twelvemonth and was this period jailed for 9 years and 2 months.

It comes aft promising young footballer Sekou Doucoure, 16, who erstwhile played for Nottingham Forest FC, was knifed successful the thorax with an eight-inch leaf aft being caught up successful pack warfare successful the metropolis successful July 2022.

The 2 boys convicted of manslaughter were some carrying fake firearms - an denotation of however guns person go glamorised by the city's underworld.

Pierre Thomas, 18, of Birmingham, and a 17-year-old boy, who tin not beryllium named, were cleared of execution but convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 9 years detention.

A tribunal heard however Sekou, who ran with a pack successful the B20 postcode, was killed successful retaliation for entering a rival territory equipped with a blade.

DIY 'slam guns'

In November 2021, a 13-year-old was near paralysed aft being changeable successful an underpass successful Hockley, Birmingham, by members of the city’s notorious Armed Response gang.

The attackers changeable their anonymous unfortunate with a homemade shotgun, known arsenic a slam gun, arsenic helium desperately tried to flight up a writer bank.

Zidann Edwards and Diago Anderson, some 20, and teen Tarfique Thomas, past 17, were jailed for life for attempted murder.

The shooting lays bare the grade to which Birmingham’s gangs are utilizing guns.

The ex-gang subordinate we spoke to, who asked not to beryllium named, warned that teenagers are progressively carrying fake weapons to “act hard.”

He said: “Some of the young kids are moving astir with fake guns to effort and enactment similar the large antheral but they are putting a people connected their ain back.

“The harder you act, you amended beryllium backing that enactment up due to the fact that different gangs volition beryllium coming for you.”

Gangs of Birmingham

Birmingham has agelong been populated by gangs, with its main rivals being the Burger Bar Boys successful Aston and Johnson Crew successful neighbouring Handsworth, which some emerged successful the 1980s.

Two teenage girls became guiltless victims of a long-running quality betwixt the gangs successful 2003.

Charlene Ellis, 18, and 17-year-old Letisha Shakespeare died successful a bungled drive-by shooting arsenic they near a New Year’s Eve party.

Younger offshoots of some gangs are inactive waging warfare - and taunting each different connected societal media with drill rap.

Government transgression statistic uncover the West Midlands has the country’s highest fig of constabulary firearms operations per caput of colonisation astatine 72, compared to places similar Lancashire, which had conscionable eight, and Cumbria with 10.

In August, a weapon loaded with 7 bullets was recovered successful a container hanging from a plot obstruction successful Soho successful the city.

Gunmen unfastened occurrence successful Birmingham - celebrated for its Peaky Blinders gangsters - astatine slightest erstwhile a week, according to constabulary figures.

Since the commencement of 2022, the metropolis has been rocked by 119 shootings and guns retrieved by cops person included shotguns, revolvers, handguns and home-made weapons.

Despite the dangers, pack members inactive boast of maiming and trying to termination each different successful TikTok raps.

One rapper talks astir “juice (blood) gets spilled similar vimto” portion different describes a stabbing: “I retrieve that time truthful clear, had precocious transportation dependable erstwhile I touched his skin, ticker his eyes rotation backmost similar a jinn.”

It seems nary areas oregon occasions are secret, either, aft a gunman opened occurrence astatine a ceremonial wake.

Meshaq Berryman, 21, sent mourners ducking for screen astatine a aftermath for 17-year-old Akeem Bailey - believing that rival pack members would beryllium astatine the funeral.

Three teenagers were deed successful the drive-by shooting successful February 2023 and a 14 year-old wounded aft she was trampled connected by fleeing household and friends.

Akeem was stabbed successful the cervix by 18-year-old Zechariah Nelson successful Ladywood, Birmingham, successful October 2022 successful a enactment implicit a mobile phone. Nelson was aboriginal jailed for beingness for manslaughter.

Cops said Akeem was not linked to gangs but Berryman expected postcode rivals to beryllium astatine the ceremony.  He has been convicted of 3 counts of attempted execution and volition beryllium sentenced adjacent month.

Dr Simon Harding, manager of the National Centre for Gangs Research Ltd, said gangs are spreading their scope further than ever earlier done societal media.

He besides claimed Britain’s cities could look a weapon situation aft the Ukraine warfare arsenic achromatic marketplace gangsters get their hands connected weapons.

Dr Harding said: “Gangs are becoming overmuch much savvy connected societal media, utilizing it arsenic an extended platform. 

“It utilized to beryllium you were portion of a pack due to the fact that you lived successful connected a definite property oregon adjacent to it - it was decreed by postcode.

“Now you tin unrecorded successful Wolverhampton and beryllium portion of a pack successful Dudley, oregon unrecorded successful Croydon and portion of a radical successful Hackney.

“Drill rap is providing a level for members connected societal media.  It’s present imaginable for the mean kid, who has thing to bash with gangs, to beryllium sucked into the civilization by ‘liking’ thing connected TikTok.

“Someone successful the pack mightiness present scope retired to them and say, ‘hey, I saw you liked this post, person you seen this one?’  A speech begins and they tin beryllium pulled successful to the gang.

“Gang members are joining astatine a young age, down to 12, adjacent 10, and staying connected for longer.

“It utilized to beryllium that these young radical would find an exit astatine the property of 24 oregon 25 but austerity, poorness and the outgo of surviving has closed down assorted exit routes, and galore stay members until they are 30/31.

“Traditionally things similar getting a job, an apprenticeship oregon getting joined and having kids would spot pack members leave, but austerity has seen each the guardians who mightiness person helped radical propulsion away, similar teachers, societal workers, younker projects, trim the magnitude of what they tin bash oregon unopen down altogether. 

“When I’ve asked young men wherefore they don’t spell and get a occupation astatine Costa oregon thing they conscionable laughter successful my face. They are earning arsenic overmuch arsenic £1,000 a week  and, for immoderate radical gangs connection them their astir palmy trajectory successful beingness - drugs, girls, fame, fortune, status, respect and money.”

He fears weapons utilized successful Ukraine’s warfare with Russia volition extremity up successful the hands of UK gangsters erstwhile the struggle ends.

Dr Harding said: “Firearms are inactive rather hard to travel by successful Britain but that could alteration erstwhile the Ukraine warfare has concluded.

“There volition beryllium a flood of firearms crossed Europe, similar determination was aft the Yugoslav struggle ended successful 2001. That was the past large spike of guns successful Britain.

“They volition beryllium overmuch much disposable and traded by organised transgression gangs and ex-soldiers and yet find their mode onto the underground market.”