THREE MEN KNIFED IN MASS FIGHT
ARRESTS AFTER BRAWL NEAR TAKEAWAY
There are fights every night of the week. I don’t know why, I don’t get involved Jack Murphy
THREE men were knifed during a mass street brawl.
Police were scrambled to Stamford Road, Longsight, after reports that up to 15 men had been involved in a violent bust-up.
Shop bosses and residents in the area have told the M.E.N. the incident is just the latest in a number of ‘daily fights’ and trouble in the south Manchester suburb.
But police have denied there is a problem with violence and say this is ‘not representative of the area’ - and have urged witnesses to Friday’s fight to come forward.
Officers established that two men had been stabbed and another was slashed with a knife in the brawl near Kebabish takeaway and Ismail Grocers.
All three – who police say were arrested on suspicion of assault – were treated for their injuries and two remained in hospital for surgery on Sunday night.
A GMP spokesman said one of the men, 24, got into a dark-coloured VW Golf, and was taken to hospital. Another man, 29, was stabbed in the leg and was taken to hospital in an ambulance. Another man, 25, suffered minor injuries to his arm. All three were held on suspicion of section 18 assault (wounding with intent), police said. One man has since been bailed. Resident Malik Ali told the M.E.N. he saw a black VW Golf ‘full of young men’ pull up outside a shop on Stamford Road before a man armed with a knife approached another man on the pavement. Their conversation escalated and two other men arrived. He added: “They were arguing and then it looked like a man got in between them and was stabbed in the chest. “Then another man intervened and he was stabbed too. “There were other lads sitting in the car still; it drove along the road and then left the area.” Nadim Ghafer, a manager at Kebabish, said: “We heard the police sirens and saw a lot of police vehicles, it wasn’t good.” Another shop owner, who asked not to be named, added: “Every day there are incidents. It’s young lads and they fight one minute and the next minute it’s forgotten.
“It’s bad for everyone, especially residents. We want peace around here but the police need to do more.”
Jack Murphy, 59, has lived on Stamford Road for 40 years.
He said: “There are fights every night of the week. I don’t know why, I don’t get involved. But the police don’t care, they don’t do anything about it.”
Another business owner, who asked not to be named, added: “People are buying and selling drugs around here. It’s bad for business; there are lots of fights – every day there is a fight.”
But senior officers say Friday’s incident ‘is not representative of the local area and does not form part of a series of violent events.’
Det Chief Insp James Riley of GMP’s City of Manchester division, said: “It’s extremely concerning when we see any sort of violence in our communities both for the local people and for the officers who are working in that area and we will always respond as best as we can with the tools and resources that are available to us.
“When we’re assessing how best to respond, we have to take into account other incidents that are happening across the force area as those where there is a higher risk to someone’s safety or their life, will take priority over incidents where there isn’t an immediate threat.”
He added: “Although this was a large-scale fight that would have frightened a lot of people living nearby, this is not representative of the local area and does not form part of a series of violent events.”
Anyone with information can call police on 0161 856 4409, quoting reference number 1821 of 03/08/18, or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.