CCTV footage helps convict ‘dangerous’ men after car park shooting

Gunshot victim refused to tell police what happened after hospital staff alerted officers

Two men described by police as dangerous have been found guilty of firearms offences after one of them opened fire with a sawn-off shotgun in a public car park.

CCTV footage showed the gunman getting out of a car in Smethwick, near Birmingham, and firing twice.

Tyjon Cogger, 22, and Saabir Mohamed, 26, are due to be sentenced on 3 October following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

Cogger and Mohamed (West Midlands Police)

The victim, in his 20s, was dropped off at Birmingham’s City Hospital in the early hours of 23 October last year, with gunshot wounds to his leg and foot.

He refused to talk to police about what had happened, but officers traced the car back to Cape Hill Retail Park by trawling through footage.

It showed an Audi car entering the car park along with a second vehicle, West Midlands Police said. Shortly afterwards, a Ford Kuga, driven by Cogger, arrived.

“The car had been travelling around the area with no obvious destination, and it’s believed the occupants had been looking for the victim and his associates,” police said.

The Kuga was then driven away, but the other occupants got into a Mercedes.

CCTV revealed the Mercedes was driven to a petrol station where Cogger refuelled it.

Cogger, of Church Avenue, Amblecote, Dudley, and Mohamed, of Thomas Crescent, Smethwick, were arrested.

Hospital staff alerted police when the victim arrived for treatment.

“Our officers worked tirelessly and studied many hours of CCTV footage as well as studying telecommunications data,” police said.

Detective Inspector Francis Nock, from the major crime unit, said: “Officers worked extremely hard to piece together what happened and spent hundreds of hours reviewing CCTV footage.

“It is down to their hard work that we identified Cogger and Mohamed and brought them to justice.

“These men are dangerous and are now rightfully behind bars, making our streets a safer place.”

Police said the convictions came under Operation Target, a regional fight against serious and organised crime.