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Carl Campbell: Man admits murdering father in West Bromwich town centre

A man has pleaded guilty to murdering a father in broad daylight on a Black Country street.

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Carl Campbell was sat in a Ford Fiesta when he was shot dead by Mohammed Humza

On the third day of his trial, Mohammed Humza dramatically altered his plea and admitted shooting dead Carl Campbell in West Bromwich.

Humza admitted the murder of 33-year-old Mr Campbell on December 27 last year at Birmingham Crown Court.

In the wake of the confession, Mr Campbell's friend of 20 years Rakesh Kumar described the terrifying scene when bullets rained down on his hired Ford Fiesta in the centre of West Bromwich.

Five shots were fired into the Fiesta as it waited at traffic lights two days after Christmas.

Mr Campbell, from Wolverhampton, was sat in the passenger seat when he was shot in the face and killed almost instantly.

Police forensic markings on Dartmouth Street, where Mr Campbell died

Mr Kumar told the court he had driven a slightly hungover Mr Campbell and one of his friends to Erdington for a late breakfast.

After driving around with a brief stop at a car park they headed back towards West Bromwich and ended up on Dartmouth Street.

Mr Kumar said: "There was a red light so I pulled up behind a car.

"As the lights were changing a car sped from behind me...and parked on the opposite side of the road.

"It had suddenly braked and I thought he was probably stopped because of the lights.

"Then the next minute I felt shards of glass hitting my face. I thought someone had thrown a brick through the car but then realised it was a gunshot that had come through on Carl's side.

"I shut my eyes because the shards were sprayed into my face and slouched down - then heard another two or three bangs.

"Then there was another bang and after that I looked across and Carl was slouched to the side and had a wound to his cheek and blood was pouring out."

Mr Kumar said he then heard the other car - which CCTV shown in court has previously identified as an Audi Q5 - 'revving away' and it 'sped off'.

He called emergency services and tried to carry out chest compressions on Mr Campbell, but his school friend could not be saved.

Mr Kumar said he is '100 per cent' sure he would have been struck by a bullet if he had not taken evasive action.

Before issuing his guilty plea, Humza, 20, had accepted firing a gun at Mr Campbell but claimed it was to 'frighten' rather than injure and he did not know if the gun was real or loaded.

Vikesh Chauhan, 24, who is alleged to have been driving the Audi, and Jaspal Rai, 25, also said to have been in the car at the time, deny murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

The trial continues.

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