Three found guilty of Wolverhampton drive-by gang shooting at playground that injured two children

Three men have been found guilty of attempted murder after a drive-by shooting near a playground in Wolverhampton injured two children.

The jury was told an 11-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy suffered gunshot wounds after they were caught in the crossfire of what police believe to have been a "violent feud" between two rival gangs.

The three men were in a stolen Ford Focus and firing at the occupants of a stolen Mini Cooper. The playground, near Shelley Road, was "right in the line of fire".

The girl's mum told the court how she rushed to the playground after she heard her daughter had been shot, describing how she "saw the hole in her leg".

The court heard that the 15-year-old boy was riding his bike in the playground car park when he was also shot in the leg.

Kian Durnin, aged 22, Martinho De-Sousa, 24, and 23-year-old Tireq McIntosh were convicted at Birmingham Crown Court on Thursday of attempted murder and aggravated vehicle taking.

All three pleaded not guilty to the charge of attempted murder but have since been found guilty. They will be sentenced on 20 December.

Detective Inspector Francis Nock, from West Midlands Police, said: "At least six shots were fired and it’s by sheer luck that these two children weren’t more seriously injured or killed. 

"Thankfully, they have both made recoveries from their physical wounds, but this has left their families shattered.

"We may never know who the intended targets were, or why the shooting happened, but we believe it involved tensions between gangs in the Wolverhampton area, and may be connected to illegal drugs."

He added: "This was a cowardly attack by men who had no hesitation in firing deadly guns next to a children’s playground."

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