Boy, 15, shot in Coventry 'drive-by' could face op to remove pellet from neck - The Coventry Observer

Boy, 15, shot in Coventry 'drive-by' could face op to remove pellet from neck

Coventry Editorial 22nd Jul, 2019 Updated: 22nd Jul, 2019   0

A BOY, 15, shot during a Coventry city centre ‘drive-by’ shooting could be facing a crucial operation to remove a pellet from his neck.

The boy’s condition was heard at a police press conference this afternoon into the alarming incident outside McDonald’s in Cross Cheaping at 11.10pm on Saturday (July 20).

It is believed the youngster was standing near the fast-food chain when a motorbike carrying ‘a number of people’ drove past and a shotgun was fired.

As we have reported, a major investigation has been launched into the shooting, which is being treated as attempted murder.




Today (Monday, July 22), Coventry Police superintendent Phil Healy told us at the press conference at Little Park Street police station: “We are working on the hypothesis that it may have been a drive-by shooting and it was targeted.

“At the moment he (the boy) is still in hospital. It is classed as not life threatening but there are still decisions to be made about whether he is going to be operated on.


“One of the pellets got lodged in the back of his neck.

“We know there is an awful lot of CCTV in that area, so we will be collecting that from local businesses.

“We have a dedicated team of officers looking at the gang issues in Coventry. Those issues have unfortunately played out a number of times in the last few months.

“But through that dedicated team we will be able to get a handle on who they (gang members) are, what they’re doing and we will try to disrupt their activity.

“And this is where the intelligence picture is really important. The more information we have the easier it is to act on it.”

Mr Healy acknowledged that ‘urban street gangs’ are an increasing problem in Coventry but said the police are already reducing the number of incidents associated with them.

A second person, a man believed to be aged around 20 who was standing near the youngster, suffered superficial injuries and has been released from hospital.

Police are following up enquiries and are particularly keen to hear from anyone who may have dashcam footage, as there were a number of taxis in the city centre.

We were told there would be more sporadic and unpredictable patrols to catch criminals by surprise – while police dogs, drones and firearms officers would be deployed.

Anyone with information has been asked to contact police via Live Chat at west-midlands.police.uk, via 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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