The meeting comes in the wake of the deaths of teenagers Latisha Shakespeare and Charlene Ellis, who were shot after attending a New Year party at a hairdressing salon in the Aston area.

Organised by the Council of Churches, the meeting on Wednesday night was hosted by ward councillors for Aston at the Council House in Birmingham.

The meeting began with a minute's silence and prayers for the dead teenagers.

'Stand together'

Calvin Young, of the Community Initiatives Committee, said: "The biggest initiative to come out of this is the coming together of the black community from all sections saying enough is enough.

"As a community they need to get together and speak out and take a stand against this issue."

Handsworth Community representative Waseem Zaffer said the issue of guns was for one that every community in Birmingham should be tackling.

"Birmingham is one of the most diverse communities, not just in the UK, but in Europe.

"It's time we stood shoulder to should and got stuck into this issue as one community."