Residents say they called GMP after party started
NEIGHBOURS overlooking the car park where the two men were shot dead have told how they repeatedly called police asking them to break up the gathering.
The M.E.N. has spoken to several people in the area who said they called police on a number of occasions on Saturday night.
One resident, a mum of a young child who lives on Gerry Wheale Square, at the border with Whalley Range, said she called 999 three times between 10pm and 12.20pm.
She said: “A lot of neighbours also called the police, but I feel like this wasn’t a priority.
“They had so many opportunities to break it up, to stop it escalating. But at the same time the community shouldn’t have done it. A party in a residential car park is not appropriate.”
Another resident, who asked not to be named, said: “So many residents called the police. They would send a patrol car, you’d think ‘Oh good they’re here’, but then it would just drive off again. If the police had been able to come at 11pm and disperse it, these people would be alive now.
“I just feel so sorry for their families. It’s just awful. We’re supposed to be in lockdown. This shouldn’t have been allowed to happen.”
A Bowes Street resident said when she called 999 she was told police were at the scene but were unable to break up the event because there were too many people there.
Another resident said: “GMP were aware of the tensions there’s been around here during lockdown. I am shocked at GMP’s response to this.”
Supt Mark Dexter said: “We did receive calls between 10pm and 12am last night. A decision was taken that it would be unachievable to satisfactorily disperse that event.
“We had no intelligence that a serious incident could happen. Police officers were in the area, but a decision was made to not disperse the full event itself.”