Probe continues into fatal Manchester shooting

LONDON: Police are continuing to investigate a fatal shooting which followed a lockdown street gathering of “hundreds of people” in Manchester.

A 36-year-old man died and a 21-year-old man is fighting for his life after an incident which took place in the Moss Side area of the city. Greater Manchester Police said both men attended hospital with gunshot wounds at about 1am on Sunday.

A cordon was in place surrounding a residential courtyard between Caythorpe Street, Broadfield Road and Bowes Street. A forensic tent partially covered a Skoda car, with litter strewn across the ground including bottles of alcohol and canisters of laughing gas, also known as “hippy crack”.

Footage on social media shows a crowd of revellers tightly packed in the courtyard in darkness and dancing to loud music. A primary school teacher, who lives a couple of streets away, said he heard the music from about 10pm and that it continued past midnight as he and his wife went to bed.

The man, who did not wish to be named, said: “It’s a really normal neighbourhood with an occasional spike in violence. I had a walk out to see what was happening and I would say there were hundreds of people around but I did see police patrols. Later, we heard an helicopter overhead.”

He said he did not feel a need to call 999 because of the police presence but others did and were reportedly told that officers were unable to break the party up because it was too large.

Another neighbour said they saw a DJ in the courtyard with music equipment.

Earlier this week, Greater Manchester Police vowed to take “serious action” to deter more illegal raves after two gatherings in Trafford and Oldham last weekend.

A dedicated operation was set up by the force after a 20-year-old man died of a suspected drug overdose, an 18-year-old woman was raped and three men were stabbed at the two events attended by more than 6,000 people.

Assistant Chief Constable Nick Bailey said the key to controlling illegal raves was stopping them before they started but he conceded there could be occasions in which senior officers decide it is too dangerous to close down an event due to its scale and also factors such as terrain and darkness.