A gunman who shot two mourners leaving a Sikh funeral is believed to have been wearing a disguise, police said last night.
The attacker, described as Asian in appearance and believed to have been wearing a false beard, fired six shots at a 49-year-old man and his 28-year-old nephew between 6pm and 6.30pm on Monday in the Tollgate Shopping Precinct car park in Smethwick.
A West Midlands Police spokeswoman said the victims had attended a funeral at the West Bromwich Crematorium at 3pm, followed by prayers at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in High Street, Smethwick.
They were shot with a handgun as they drove out of the car park in a black Bentley Arnage.
The older man was shot in the leg and his nephew was shot in his shoulder and pelvis. They were taken to hospital where they have been treated for injuries, last night described as not life-threatening. Two male passengers were not injured.
Last night police were appealing for information to track down the gunman, who fled after the shooting and has been described as about 30. He was wearing a black turban, black suit, white shirt and black tie.
Detective Chief Inspector George Tracey, from West Midlands Police, said a motive had not been established and police were keen to speak to witnesses.
He said although 1,000 people attended the funeral, only a few of the congregation had remained at the scene by the time the emergency services had arrived.
He said: "It is believed the two victims, who were a man and his nephew, had attended a large funeral at the Sikh Gurdwara in High Street, Smethwick but I can't go into details of the relationship between the injured persons and the deceased.
"They had left the funeral and were leaving the car park in the vehicle when the shootings occurred.
"As the individuals were leaving the car park, they were shot by a lone gunman. He has been described as having some sort of disguise or even a false full beard.
"Both injured are in hospital and are being operated on.
"We are keen to establish what the motive was but what we have a lack of at the moment is witnesses. If anybody has seen anything suspicious either at the crematorium or gurdwara, they should contact the police.
"We are liaising with the community, especially the community of the gurdwara, to assure them incidents like these are rare." A cordon was lifted yesterday afternoon as police officers concluded forensic tests.
A member of the congregation, who wished to remain anonymous, said he was not aware of any trouble among worshippers before the shooting in what he described as a "quiet area".
