There have been two nights of violence in Birmingham

Two men have been arrested after an 18-year-old man was shot dead in Birmingham a day after riots left one dead and 35 injured.A West Midlands Police spokesman said it was "too early to tell" whether the shooting was directly connected to this weekend's disturbances in the Lozells area of the city.

She said the incident had been voluntarily referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission after firearms officers were called to the area.

The spokesman said there had been "sporadic incidents" of disorder throughout the night, involving small groups of youths in the Lozells area, but these were of a "considerably lower scale" than Saturday night's clashes.

The latest shooting is about a mile from the Lozells area.

Firearms officers were called to Melbourne Avenue in Newtown at about 12.40am today in connection with sightings of a firearm.

The spokesman said: "It would appear that at some point while police were searching the area, an 18-year-old suffered a gunshot wound and was taken to hospital where he has since died.

"Two men have been arrested in connection with this."

A second night of violence began at around 10.30pm when a gang of up to 100 Asian youths charged down Lozells Road in the Lozells area in a display of what one protester said was an act to "reclaim our streets".

Police officers, many in full riot gear, spread out across the area to break up the main body of the gang and prevent a major disturbance.

The front window of one terraced house was smashed as the youths rampaged down a back street off the main Lozells Road.

Saturday night's violence erupted after residents attended a public meeting addressing concerns about an unconfirmed sex attack on a 14-year-old Jamaican girl, said to be an illegal immigrant.

The hotly-debated rumour at the centre of the trouble, which remains unsubstantiated, is that the girl was raped after shoplifting from a beauty product store owned by Asians.

The alleged assault sparked a week of mounting tension among the area's black and Asian communities, culminating in the outbreak. Shops and pubs were ransacked and cars set on fire during the clash which is thought to have involved up to 50 rioters.

Hundreds of police in riot gear were attacked with bricks and bottles. One man, of Afro-Caribbean origin, received a single fatal stab wound in Carlisle Road at about 7pm.

The attack is thought to have been the catalyst for the night of "extreme violence".

A police officer was shot in the leg with a ball-bearing gun. He is said to be in a stable condition.

Nine people remained in hospital last night after being treated for injuries suffered in the disturbances, a spokesman said.

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Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/23/nriot23.xml

Times News paper
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1840841,00.html