Terror as gun fired in mass brawl in street
DETECTIVES are investigating after a gun was fired during a mass brawl in Rusholme.
Video footage shows terrified bystanders fleeing the scene in fear of their lives following the shots in the early hours of yesterday.
There are also unconfirmed reports that a second weapon, believed to be a blade, was brandished just seconds before the gun went off. No injuries have been reported to police.
The drama unfurled on Walmer Street East, a dead-end road just off Curry Mile, just after 4am.
One witness, who didn’t want to be named, said the fight started near Spice Kitchen on Wilmslow Road. He told the M.E.N: “There were two guys in there getting some food. They came out and something happened, there were two of them and then another group of around 20 lads, I knew something was going to happen.
“People won’t have others coming in and dissing them.”
He said that one of the men was chased down Walmer Street East before being cornered at the end of the road. Onlookers said it was then that the man who had been chased pulled out a blade, and the crowd started to run away. As they did, a second man charged at the group and three shots were fired. Police later confirmed these were blanks.
The witness added: “There were shots going off and everyone there started shouting and screaming and running for their life. Some people were lying down on the floor to stop themselves getting shot. The guy who was chased ran off as soon as the first shot went off, no one really noticed it because everyone was running away, then the other guy with the gun ran too.”
A spokesman for GMP confirmed that detectives were aware of the footage and its contents.
A statement read: “Shortly after 4.10am on Sunday, August 13, police were called to reports that a man had approached a group of people involved in a fight on Wilmslow Road, Rusholme and produced a gun. The man then proceeded to fire a number of blank rounds before running off. Nobody is reported as having been injured during the incident. At this stage police believe this to be an isolated incident.”
Anyone with information can call police on 101, quoting incident number 529 of 13/08/17 – or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.