Manhunt after girls die in hail of bullets

British police were today hunting gunmen who shot dead two teenage girls and injured another two following a dispute at a New Year party in a hairdresser’s salon.

Two of the victims – one who died and one who survived – were 18-year-old twin sisters who were enjoying festivities with around 30 revellers at Uniseven Studios in Birmingham.

The four black girls, all local, were among a group who had stepped outside the rear of the ground-floor salon in Birchfield Road, Aston, to cool off because of the heat inside when they were hit by a hail of bullets.

Police launched a murder inquiry, describing the shootings as “exceptional in their brutality” and “unprecedented“.

The alarm was raised by a member of the public who heard a considerable number of shots being fired shortly after 4am yesterday.

Officers and paramedics tried in vain to save the lives of one of the twins and a 17-year-old, who were lying on the ground.

The other twin and another 17-year-old were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. One has undergone surgery.

The salon and the rest of the 20 shops in the parade remained closed with their steel shutters down yesterday as a wide area around the scene was sealed off for police to conduct a finger-tip search.

A ballistics expert was examining spent rounds found on the ground at the rear of the hairdressers, as well as doors and a car found 50m from the scene which were all riddled with bullets.

One possibility detectives are examining is that there was an exchange of gunfire between two groups.

Chief Supt David Shaw, the police area commander for Aston, said extra armed officers were being deployed on the streets of Birmingham in response to the killings.

He told reporters: “In my experience, and those of all the officers here, we have never had to deal with anything like this.

“In terms of the nature of the incident, it’s almost unprecedented in Birmingham. They (the shootings) are exceptional in their brutality.”

The officer added: “There has clearly been some sort of dispute which has resulted in people coming to the premises with guns, discharging their weapons and causing this incident."

The cause of the dispute and the number of gunmen was not yet known.

Mr Shaw appealed to members of the community to come forward and help officers with their inquiries.

One trader, who runs a computer and phone shop with his brother near the hairdressers, said the owner of the salon had held Christmas and New Year parties since starting the business around two years ago.

The shopkeeper, who gave his name as Fergie, said he had been invited to the party along with other traders in the parade of shops, but was unable to attend.

He said: “We only know the lady who runs the hairdressers as Miss Chin. She has always been very friendly with the other shopkeepers and she has a party each year for Christmas and New Year.

“We cannot believe this has happened. People will be afraid to come out at night now and go to parties or whatever. We are just trying to find out.”

West Midlands Police said they had driven down the number of gun-related crimes from 44 between April and October 2001 to 33 for the same period last year.

Last year, officers arrested 57 people for gun-related offences and seized 92 illegal firearms.