Gunman shot his own accomplice in botched attack

News imageWest Midlands Police Side-by-side images of two men facing forward against plain backgrounds in police mugshots; the left image shows a man with short hair and a beard wearing a dark top, and the right image shows a man with longer hair and facial hair wearing a hoodie. Part of a West Midlands Police logo is visible in the bottom right corner. West Midlands Police
Liaqat (left) and Khan were parked up and planning a shooting when their own gun went off, police have said

Two men who police say botched a planned shooting after one of them accidentally shot the other have been jailed.

Adam Liaqat and Asad Khan were parked up when their gun went off in St Paul's Road, Smethwick, at just before 04:30 GMT on 23 November last year, the West Midlands force said.

Liaqat, the driver, fired the gun by mistake, leaving accomplice Khan with serious leg injuries, it added.

Liaqat and Khan, who were convicted of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, have been sentenced to 15 years and 13 years respectively. Another man, Yakuba Sawaneh, has been jailed for three-and-a-half years.

Khan was left to take a taxi to hospital where he initially claimed to be unclear about what had happened, police have said.

It was established the Mitsubishi Outlander the pair were in had been stolen from Rowley Regis the previous evening.

The force said it discovered a message between Khan and someone else which indicated he and Liaqat were on their way to conduct a shooting "before their mishap".

News imageWest Midlands Police A man with dark hair is looking at the camera. Part of the West Midlands Police logo is visible at the bottom of the image.West Midlands Police
Yakuba Sawaneh was found guilty of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply

Liaqat was arrested in December following a pursuit with a Honda Accord, police stated.

His passenger was Sawaneh and items including Class A drugs were thrown from the windows.

Adam Liaqat, 20, from Middlemore Road in West Bromwich, who was jailed at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Monday, had also been found guilty of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply.

Khan, 23, of Lones Road, West Bromwich, had already been sentenced for possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life/enable another to do so and possession of a Class A drug.

Sawaneh, 20, from Golden Eagle Gardens in Birmingham, was found guilty of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply.

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