Bishop's anguish over latest city shooting

Sep 2 2005 By Poppy Brady, Evening Mail

A CHURCH leader today spoke of his "deep disappointment" that shootings on Birmingham streets is continuing despite the efforts of so many people.

Bishop Joe Aldred spoke out following the double shooting which claimed the life of 29-year-old Paul Francis and wounded 24-year-old Nathaniel Ellis.

Mr Ellis, older brother of Charlene Ellis, who died in a hail of bullets outside a New Year party in January 2003, was shot in the back in the latest outrage.

He was reportedly trying to protect Mr Francis, who died in City Hospital following the attack outside Poppy's Salon, in Lozells Road, Newtown, last Saturday.

Mr Aldred, who chairs the Council for Black-Led Churches, said: "This comes just after Birmingham has been involved in Peace Week.

"Across the city people have been saying 'enough is enough'. We have had enough waste of life. It's very sad that we are finding there are still so many guns out there."

Mr Aldred said a survey of 700 young people published in The Voice newspaper found that 60 per cent of those questioned had seen a real gun and 40 per cent personally knew someone who owned a gun.

"If this is true, it is shocking. Where are these guns coming from? There has to be a supply chain that must be cut off," said the bishop.

Shootings on city streets were linked to a far wider problem of a society that was not at ease with itself, he added.

"We must look at other areas and other communities where tragedies have been happening, such as the murder of Anthony Walker in Liverpool, which was a white on black crime, and of schoolboy Rory Blackhall in Scotland, which was a white on white crime.

"These crimes cut across all communities."