A gang member who opened fire on a crowd of mourners attending a wake has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 24 years after a judge said the shooting had caused “utter terror”.
Meshaq Berryman, who fired four shots from the back of a stolen Nissan Qashqai towards St Mary’s Church Hall in Hamstead Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, was found guilty at a trial last year after denying three counts of attempted murder.
The 22-year-old, of Chain Walk, Lozells, hit three young men, leaving them with injuries to the chest, leg and foot, and caused panic which saw a 14-year-old girl suffer injuries as a result of being trampled on.
Birmingham Crown Court heard the mourners had gathered in February 2023 to pay their respects to 17-year-old Akeem Bailey, who was stabbed to death in October 2022 during a dispute over a mobile phone.
Berryman pleaded guilty before his trial to possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and cannabis, after more than 40 wraps of drugs, along with digital scales were found at his home.
Passing sentence on Friday, the Recorder of Birmingham Judge Melbourne Inman KC told Berryman, who was affiliated with Birmingham’s 9Boyz gang: “Sadly, this is yet another case of very serious violence involving the use of firearms between street gangs within this city.
“Gang violence is a scourge of this city, as it is elsewhere.
“This was a planned attack. The funeral was of a child who had been murdered. I make it clear the victim was a wholly innocent victim and wasn’t a member of any gang.
The effect upon the mother and loved ones of the child whose funeral it was can scarcely be imagined. This was an attack on those who were mourning the death of a child
The judge heard from prosecutors that the shooting was part of a “street war” between 9Boyz and a rival gang known as Armed Response.
Before the shooting – carried out with a smooth-barrelled 9mm pistol which has not been recovered – Berryman had discarded his phone.
Following his arrest, Berryman, who has two previous convictions for drugs offences, made no comment in police interviews.
Passing sentence, Judge Inman added that Berryman had believed members of the rival gang would be present at the wake.
The judge said: “There were something of the order of 100 people outside the hall, together with those inside. The scene was one of utter terror.
“The effect upon the mother and loved ones of the child whose funeral it was can scarcely be imagined. This was an attack on those who were mourning the death of a child.
“The only mitigation is that you have no previous convictions for violence.
“This was a determined attempt to murder a number of people. You in fact fired four shots from a very close range into a large crowd of people.
“It’s remarkable that one or more were not killed – you had no regard at all for human life.”
