The incident is to be investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) as firearms officers were in the Newtown area of the city at the time.

Police said there had been "sporadic incidents" of disorder throughout last night, involving small groups of youths in the Lozells area, but these were of a "considerably lower scale" than Saturday night's clashes.

The spokeswoman said: "It would appear that at some point while police were searching the area, an 18-year-old suffered a gunshot wound and was taken to hospital where he has since died.

"Two men have been arrested in connection with this. West Midlands Police has voluntarily referred the matter to the Independent Police Complaints Commission as a matter of course."

Fears of a second night of violence were ignited earlier when a gang of up to 100 Asian youths charged down Lozells Road in the Lozells area in a display of what one protester said was an act to "reclaim our streets".

The front window of one terraced house was smashed as the youths rampaged down a back street off Lozells Road. But police tactics to prevent a major disturbance appeared to be working.

Saturday night's violence erupted after residents attended a public meeting addressing concerns about an unconfirmed sex attack on a 14-year-old Jamaican girl, said to be an illegal immigrant.

The rumour at the centre of the trouble, which remains unsubstantiated, is that the girl was raped after shoplifting from a store owned by Asians. The alleged assault sparked a week of mounting tension among the area's black and Asian communities.

One man, of Afro-Caribbean origin, received a single fatal stab wound in Carlisle Road at about 7pm. The attack is thought to have been the catalyst for the night of "extreme violence".

Det Supt Dave Mirfield, leading the murder hunt, said police received 12 reports of gunfire during the disturbances, 80 crimes were reported, with 35 people taken to hospital. Five people were arrested in connection with the disorder. A further five people were released on police bail after being questioned over allegations of a sexual assault on another woman who came forward following the publicity over the alleged attack on the 14-year-old.

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