‘HELP US TO FIND GUNMAN’
POLICE CHIEFS ISSUE APPEAL TO MOSS SIDE COMMUNITY AFTER SHOOTING FULL STORY:
THE family of a 12-year-old girl injured when a shotgun was fired into a crowd were at her hospital bedside yesterday as she continues to recover.
Police said in an update that her injuries were not thought to be lifethreatening and she was expected to make a full recovery.
GMP chiefs have also issued a direct appeal to the Moss Side community for help to find the gunman – and the weapon – involved.
The injured girl, who hasn’t been named, was one of 12 who went to hospital after what is believed to be a shotgun was fired twice in a huge group of people at a street party on Claremont Road held after the Caribbean Carnival.
Ten were taken to hospital from the scene, with two others attending there later, and police said all the victims suffered ‘pellet-type’ wounds. One man broke his leg.
Yesterday two men, aged 23 and 30, and the 12-year-old girl remained in hospital for treatment, police revealed. None of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening, officers said. The force said detectives were ‘exploring a number of working hypotheses’ to determine a motive behind the shooting.
Chf Supt Wasim Chaudhry said: “We are now more than 24 hours on from this truly shocking attack and our investigation team has been following numerous lines of enquiry in their attempts to establish the full picture of what happened.
“A key part of that work to establish the full picture is information from the community being fed into the investigation team by members of the public.
“The person responsible for this incident recklessly fired a gun into a crowd of people enjoying a celebration of Caribbean culture, which included children. One of those injured by the shooting was a 12-year-old girl who remains in hospital with her family at her bedside but, thankfully, she should make a full recovery.
“We need to get answers for her family and the loved ones of all the people injured in the incident and we believe those answers may lie within the community.”
Armed officers flooded the area at around 2.30am on Sunday after reports of gunshots.
Chf Supt Chaudhry added: “Current lines of enquiry have so far led the investigation team to believe that a shotgun was fired into the crowd on at least two occasions, but the weapon is yet to be recovered.
“I want to urge anyone who thinks they may know anything to please get in touch as matter of urgency.
“If people don’t feel comfortable contacting the police then people can report information anonymously to Crimestoppers, which is a charity that is completely independent from the police.”
Community youth worker Kemoy Walker said the community still celebrated with a street party after the second day of carnival on Sunday night.
He said: “I think we need to show some positives. We need to stay strong.
“That was yesterday, this is today. People were at the street party on Sunday in solidarity.
“It was beautiful. People came together and there was even more love than usual.”
Kemoy said community leaders and faith leaders have been out in force working to reassure residents in the wake of the shooting.
He added: “We’ve had faith leaders walking around and community guardians making sure everyone is okay. That’s what Moss Side is best at when it comes to something like this.
“I have never, ever seen something like this before. It’s not a normal thing.
“I wish everyone a speedy recovery. We don’t want them to think of Moss Side in a bad way.”
Anyone with information should call police on 0161 856 4166, quoting incident number 297 of 12 August, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.