A would-be killer who helped plan a sub-machine gun attack which nearly killed a man has been jailed for life.
Sujeel Amjad played a key role in planning the night of violence in December last year, but has now been brought to justice after a major investigation by our detectives.
It revealed how Amjad and others travelled to and address in Wolverhampton on the evening of 3 December last year, where it’s believed he picked up multiple firearms including a Skorpion machine pistol that would be used in one of two shootings that night.
Minutes later, Amjad and associates drove back to Birmingham where the guns were handed to another man, who has since fled the country is still on the run.
That man travelled to an address on Southbourne Avenue, Hodge Hill. There, the gunman opened fire at the front of a house where his target lived.
A witness described seeing the gunman in a balaclava returning to a white Seat Leon parked outside the house, before he was driven away by another man.
The gunman’s target was not in, but when he returned home in his car a few hours later, the same gunman was waiting for him, this time armed with the Skorpion.
Multiple shots were fired towards the car, and one of the two victims thought he’d been shot, but the bullets had all missed.
The stolen cars used in the shootings, a VW Tiguan and a Seat Leon, were driven away and found burned out.
Amjad, aged 22, of Burney Lane, Alum Rock, was convicted of attempted murder over the second shooting, and arson of the two cars.
Images recovered from his phone showed him holding two guns, along with an image of a Skorpion which may have been the same one used on 3 December.
Today (20 September) at Birmingham Crown Court he was jailed for life and will serve a minimum of 20 years.
The second man, who police believe fired the shots, is still being sought by police through efforts with international partners.
Det Insp Francis Nock, from our Major Crime Team, said: “The Skorpion is a military-grade weapon, capable of discharging around 800 rounds per minute.
“It’s incredible really that no one was actually hit, despite that clearly being the intention of the gunman.
“Mobile phone and CCTV analysis helped us connect Amjad to the planning of the second shooting, and we know from text messages that he was involved in arranging false number plates for at least one of the cars which were used in the shootings and which he later helped destroy.
“We are determined to bring the gunman who is still on the run to justice, and won’t stop until he is behind bars.”
We’re committed to tackling serious and organised crime under Operation Target.