Teenage boy seriously injured in Birmingham shooting near mosque

A 16-year-old boy was taken to hospital with potentially life-threatening gunshot injuries after being shot on Bowyer Road near St Saviours Road in Birmingham’s Alum Rock area shortly before 5.30pm on Wednesday, 1 July 2026. West Midlands Police said the shooting happened near a mosque, but officers did not believe at that stage that it was connected to the mosque.

The attack unfolded in a densely populated part of the city and quickly raised concern about youth gun violence and public safety in Birmingham. Police said they were called to reports of a shooting on Bowyer Road shortly before 5.30pm and later confirmed the teenager had been taken to hospital with gunshot wounds.

The immediate focus for officers was the injured boy and the circumstances of the shooting, which took place in a busy residential area close to St Saviours Road. The police account made clear that the mosque nearby was not being treated as part of the incident at that stage, a point likely to matter in an area where fear can spread fast after gunfire.

Local councillors Nosheen Khalid and Shaukat Mahmood urged the community not to speculate and called for people to come together with compassion and respect. Their response reflected the anxiety that often follows gun violence involving young people, especially when it happens in a neighbourhood where families, worshippers and passersby were close to the scene.