"Not the intended target" - agony continues for family of Sheffield murder victim

This summer marks the 15th anniversary of the murder of a young man shot down in a hail of bullets in a Sheffield street.

But to this day, the brutal murder of the dad-of-two remains unsolved.

James Kamara, aged 22, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Broomhall in July 2009.

He was shot seven times in his chest while he was sat in a car in Brunswick Street saying his goodbyes to friends before he left Sheffield to start a new life in another city.

South Yorkshire Police believe James was killed as part of a between two rival gangs operating in Sheffield at that time – the S3 gang from Burngreave and Pitsmoor and the WS10 ‘Squaremen’ from Broomhall.

James died in a hail of bullets 90 minutes after the rival gangs clashed in Eldon Street, Devonshire Green.

Detectives who investigated the case believe a leading member of the Squaremen had been the intended target of the attack and that James was tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A masked man opened fire from a passing Vauxhall Vectra, hitting James seven times and injuring three others in the gun attack.

Despite the efforts of friends and passers-by who battled to revive James, he could not be saved and a murder probe was launched, with three arrests made in Liverpool and one in Spain as part of the investigation.

The shooting was described in court as a 'premeditated and cold-blooded killing'.

A firearms expert said 11 shots were fired in the broad daylight attack.

Prosecutor Paul Watson said: "It was a pre-meditated and cold-blooded killing although maybe the young man who died was not the intended target."

"Central to a proper understanding of this case is an appreciation of the deep and bitter rivalry between these two groups.

"Any perceived insult, loss of face or act of disrespect inevitably results in old hatreds boiling over and erupting into violence between the two.""

After the suspects walked free after their trial South Yorkshire Police said: “The case remains open and is regularly monitored and reviewed by the force's major incident team.”

Anyone with information should call South Yorkshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.