Shot dead
Reporter: Exclusive by Jennifer Hollamby, Dawn Marsden and J
Date published: 09 July 2009
Gun terror in car park
A WERNETH man was shot dead in the car park of a doctor’s surgery in Chadderton this morning in a shooting that could be linked to the murder of a shop worker in Salford.
Police were called to Block Lane at 12.10am after reports that a man in his early 20s had been shot several times in his leg and groin in the surgery car park near Cornwall Street.
Ambulance crews accompanied police to the scene, but the victim died in hospital at 1.30am. A burned-out Mitsubishi 4x4 was found around half-a-mile away in the car park of the Ancora restaurant on Broadway.
Werneth Councillor Fida Hussain comforted the devastated young man’s father and accompanied him to hospital as crowds gathered at the scene.
He said the dead man worked in the family’s grocery and hardware shop in near-by Lincoln Street.
He added: “This has really shaken the whole community. I got a call from the family at about 12.30am.
The police had obviously cordoned off the area, but I saw the father watching the scene and tried to calm him down.
“Local people called the police when they heard the shooting.
“A number of youths went to the hospital and there is tension but I am appealing for the community to show restraint and not to take the law into their own hands.
“I ask those who may have witnessed anything to come forward to the police, and make sure no stone is left unturned.”
Traffic diversions were out in place this morning after police cordoned off Block Lane at Oxford Street and Cornwall street to comb the area for clues.
Officers believe the incident could be linked to the murder of the 30-year-old shop worker, known locally as Nasar Shazad, in Salford at the weekend.
In that incident, the murder weapon was later found underneath a car in Hinton Street, Oldham. Thirteen people have since been arrested — eight from Oldham.
One shocked resident who witnessed last night’s horror spoke today of the chaos in the moments following the shooting.
A 29-year-old mother-of-two said: “I was woken by three loud noises. I looked out of the window where I saw lots of people and heard screaming.
“I saw lots of people running around and shouting and then I heard someone say ‘he’s been shot, call an ambulance’.
“We have had a lot of problems in this area recently and we’ve had car bombs going off in the past year, but the police don’t seem to have done anything.
“If it carries on like this, we are going to move out of the area.”
Chadderton Central Councillor Colin McClaren confirmed that the area has been plagued with anti-social activity in recent years and that the police, licensing and youth service had been heavily involved in trying to clamp down on the problems.
“There have been reports of people dealing drugs out of the phone box that which used to be on Block Lane and out of cars outside a local pub.
“The fact that this may be connected to the earlier shooting certainly gives major cause for concern and suggests that the drug gangs of Manchester may be spreading out and coming to areas like Chadderton, looking for new sources of income. This is a very worrying sign.”
