£10,000 reward to find shooter who injured cousins outside children's Halloween party

A reward of up to £10,000 is being offered following an “outrageous” drive-by shooting in which two teenagers were shot outside a children’s Halloween party.

The cousins, aged 14 and 15, were hit by a single round which passed through one victim and into the other outside a party in Handsworth, Birmingham, on Friday, November 2.

The shooting, involving what police believed to be a “powerful” firearm, happened at 8.15pm in Victoria Road, as the boys were standing on the doorstep of a relative’s house.

The independent charity Crimestoppers is offering the reward of up to £10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the offence.

Appealing for public help, Pauline Hadley, West Midlands regional manager at the charity, said: “Did you see a car that looked suspicious between 8pm and 8.15pm?

"Maybe one that went back and forth in the area?

"Were you driving around Victoria Road?

"Do you have dashcam footage?

“Whoever did this could shoot at someone else in your community.

"You can stop that from happening.

“We need to prevent any further danger to the community and are therefore putting up a reward to encourage anyone who knows who was involved, to come forward.”

Police have stressed that neither boy had ever had any previous contact with police, had “no affiliation to any sort of criminality”, and the attack appeared motiveless.

A baby was inside the house at the time of the shooting, along with at least 10 young children.

• Anyone with information is urged to contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org