<p>This interactive map and timeline shows the scale of knife and gun deaths in the West Midlands.</p> <p>At least 23 people have been murdered by killers using weapons in the region since December 2007.</p> <p>Police and relatives called for calm in the community after a spate of recent attacks culminating in the death of Dimitri Foskin in August.</p> <p>The map shows a significant proportion of the killings clustered around the north-western areas of Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Dudley.</p> <p>Many of the killings have been linked to gang activity by the police.</p> <p>After the death of Mr Foskin, chief superintendent Mick Treble, of West Midlands Police appealed for calm between rival gangs, saying: “I would like to appeal for calm in the sense that a life has been wasted and if there is tension within the community then people need to talk to the police.”</p> <p>The online timeline shows killings tend to come in clusters, leading to police fears that some killings could be “tit-for-tat” killings carried out as revenge attacks.</p> <p>You can also see a full verson of the <a href="&quot;http://www.dipity.com/user/TomScotney/timeline/Gun_and_knife_crime_in_Brum&quot;">timeline</a> and <a href="&quot;http://www.dipity.com/user/TomScotney/timeline/Gun_and_knife_crime_in_Brum/map&quot;">map</a>.</p>