Man jailed after shots fired at trio fleeing car

A man has been jailed for more than eight years for his part in a Birmingham shooting in which three men were targeted as they fled their rammed car.

Kasim Ali was one of four men in a Mitsubishi Shogun which rammed a black VW Golf into another car on Trinity Road, Aston, during the evening of 2 October.

Three men inside the Golf fled on foot towards Birchfield Road while another man from the Shogun fired at them.

Ali, 24, from the Handsworth area of the city, was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Tuesday after admitting possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life at an earlier hearing.

West Midlands Police said the area was particularly busy at the time of the shooting due to fans leaving Aston Villa's Champions League fixture against Bayern Munich.

Ali used the handle of a so-called Rambo knife to smash the Golf's windscreen, the force said.

For that act, Ali also pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article and received 12 months' imprisonment concurrent to his sentence of eight years and four months for his firearms offence.

Police said Ali fled the country shortly after the shooting, but forensic tests linked him to the scene and he was arrested when he returned to the UK.

The motive for the attack remained unknown and inquiries continued to identify the other occupants of the Shogun, including the gunman, police stated.

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