Help catch my daughter's killers, pleads mother

The mother of one of two teenagers gunned down outside a New Year party today pleaded with the public to help catch her daughter’s killer and for rival gangs not to seek revenge for the death.

Marcia Shakespear, whose 17-year-old daughter Latisha was cut down by four 9mm bullets fired from a sub machine gun, also called for an end to the violence associated with gang culture.

Detectives confirmed that they believed members of two rival gangs – the Johnson Crew and the Burger Bar Boys – were involved in the incident in which Latisha’s cousin Charlene Ellis, 18, was also killed.

Charlene’s twin sister Sophie and Cheryl Shaw, 17, were also hit when the rear of a hair salon in Aston, Birmingham, was raked with gunfire last Thursday.

The plea from Latisha’s mother, made at a press conference at West Midlands Police headquarters in Birmingham, coincided with the announcement of Government plans to introduce a five-year mandatory minimum sentence for the illegal possession and use of firearms.

Flanked by her sister, Sandra Shakespear, Marcia said: “My daughter Latisha was a good girl. She was well educated in private school, she had ambitions to work with children.

“She had started an art and design course at college.

“She did not go out very often, only to the local youth club. The only reason she was allowed out on New Year’s night was because the party had been organised by friends and family.”

After pausing to compose herself, the clearly emotional mother added: “She was not a member of any gang. She was a friend of Sophie Ellis who was also shot in this incident.

“This has got to end. My daughter’s life was cut short by this incident.

“I would ask the community to come forward and give information over who did this. People must give police their details and not just remain anonymous.

“The police need witnesses, they need your help.

“I do not want another incident and I do not want another child to be killed. It has got to stop now.

“A part of me died when Latisha died. If you do not come forward after this what is left? What could be worse? This is as bad as it gets. Please help. Please help.”

Det Supt Dave Mirfield said the motive for the killings remained unclear and played down reports that an older brother of the twins was associated with members of the Burger Bar Boys.

Asked by reporters if the alleged link may have been behind the shooting, he said: “It is an area that I am looking at but it is not a strong lead that I feel is worthy of great concentration.”

Mr Mirfield, who is leading the inquiry, said police had not faced a wall of silence among potential witnesses, revealing that even some gang members had come forward with information.

“They too have been shocked by what has happened and I believe they have a genuine desire to see those responsible arrested and charged,” he said.

Officers have been given the names of several people thought to be responsible for the shooting or who were present at the scene, the detective said.

And he revealed that just a handful of offenders are thought to have been involved in the shoot-out.

“We are probably talking about a maximum of six people involved in these shootings and we know that two vehicles were possibly used in this offence,” he said.

“I believe that there probably was an exchange of fire but my honest belief is that the girls were shot by members of one gang.”

The officer also said that the girls were probably part of a larger group of people gathered at the rear of the salon.

“It is unclear as to who the girls were standing with. We think there was about 25 people in that group.

“There may well have been other people in the group that could have been a target. Sophie is in no condition at the moment to give a statement.

“Cheryl has supplied a statement. Her recollection of what occurred is vague. It would have been over in seconds.”

Mr Mirfield disclosed that the men who killed the girls had also fired at least seven shots into a white Ford Orion parked nearby.

The officer said detectives were anxious to speak to anyone who saw a white or silver Vauxhall Vectra or a smaller red car in the area at the time of the shoot-out.

Mr Mirfield again stressed that the girls had been innocent bystanders, adding: “They were not members of any gangs and they were not associated with any gangs.”

CCTV footage had also been recovered from the scene and Mr Mirfield said he was hopeful this would identify vehicles leaving the scene of the shooting.

Meanwhile, Charlene’s father Arthur Ellis also called for gang members not to seek revenge for his daughter’s death.

The 42-year-old, a born-again Christian, told the Birmingham Evening Mail: “We can’t bring ourselves to tell Sophie, so we are waiting until she gets a bit stronger. She’s asking for Charlene all the time but we keep telling her to concentrate on getting better.”

Mr Ellis, who served a six-year sentence for manslaughter, appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

“Even though Sophie is alive, we feel we have lost her too because she does not know life without Charlene. They have always been so very close,” he said.

“Both my girls were practising Christians and they gave their hearts to the Lord after hearing my testimony when I became a Christian and was baptised exactly a year ago yesterday. They are total innocents in all of this.”

He added: “Anything I know, I am telling the police – if any gang members want to kill me, then go ahead. I don’t want revenge of any sort, only justice.”