10 revelers shot after U.K. carnival
Manchester police investigate attack as attempted murder
LONDON — Ten people, including two children, were injured early Sunday when shots were fired after a Caribbean carnival in the northern English city of Manchester.
Police in the Moss Side area of the city were investigating the case as “an attempted murder,” and officers were working on the premise that a shotgun had been used, an official said.
The shooting unfolded in the pre-dawn hours, shortly after revelers attended the first day of the annual carnival in the area.
“It is unclear at this stage what the motive, what the reason behind this attack, was,” Wasim Chaudhry, the chief superintendent of the Greater Manchester Police, said at a news conference Sunday afternoon. “However, we’ve got to be clear, it would be obvious to any particular person that discharging a firearm in a large crowd like this is completely reckless.”
He said it wasn’t clear how many shots had been fired, and that question “forms part of our investigation.”
The wounded ranged in age from 12 to their 50s and mostly suffered injuries in their legs, Chaudhry said at the news conference.
Some required surgery, he added.
Authorities said that one man was in serious but stable condition, and that nine others, including two children, had pellet-type wounds.
“Thankfully the injuries suffered do not appear to be as serious as first believed, and hopefully people will begin to leave hospital over the course of the day following treatment,” Chaudhry said earlier in a statement, urging anyone else who may be injured to seek treatment. “This was a reckless act that could have had devastating consequences with families and friends losing loved ones.”
“A large number” of unarmed and armed officers responded at 2:30 a.m. to reports of gunfire as crowds milled about after the Manchester carnival, police said in a statement.
A spokesman for the Manchester Police, Detective Superintendent Debbie Dooley, said officers were searching the area for clues, interviewing witnesses and reviewing footage from surveillance cameras.
“Those living or visiting the area will understandably be concerned by this incident,” she added, “and we will have extra officers patrolling the area throughout the morning and into the coming days.”
Footage on social media showed panicked crowds after the shooting. Later Sunday morning, Claremont Road, where the shooting took place, was littered with debris — and what appeared to be nitrous oxide canisters — and remained cordoned off by police.
The shooting comes as officials in Britain have struggled to deal with a rise in crime, including acid and knife attacks. “Guns have no place on our streets,” Chaudhry said.
The two-day Manchester carnival in Alexandra Park is commemorating the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the Windrush generation, a group of people from the Caribbean who arrived in Britain on the Empire Windrush, a passenger liner, after they were encouraged to move to the country to fill a labor shortage.
Bev Craig, a Labor Party councilor for the area, said on Twitter: “Awful news. Thoughts with those injured and the local community today as the police start to piece events together. Moss Side is a vibrant, welcoming area — and so much more than just a headline, let’s hope in the days to come this is remembered.”
In May 2017, Manchester was rocked by a terrorist bombing at Manchester Arena, where Salman Abedi, a British citizen of Libyan descent, detonated explosives packed with nails, bolts and ball bearings at an Ariana Grande concert.
Information for this article was contributed by staff members of The New York Times and The Associated Press.