'Truly shocking': MP calls for gunmen to be brought to justice after THIRD Wigan shooting in a week

Three shootings have occurred within seven days of each other, all within Makerfield MP Yvonne Fovargue's constituency.

Ms Fovargue has backed GMP in their "relentless pursuit" of the suspects, but said residents had an important role to play in helping solve the terrifying cases.

It was yesterday (Thursday, September 19) afternoon when a 54-year-old man was sitting in his car when his would-be assassins pulled alongside on Bickershaw Lane in Abram.

He was blasted up to three times at close range with a shotgun before the getaway car sped off. The gunmen remain at large.

Investigators say that the victim's injuries are now considered to be life-changing rather than life-threatening as his hand and arm - perhaps held up to ward off the attack - bore the brunt of the blast.

Ms Fovargue said: “The events of the past week are truly shocking for the local community.

"I know that Greater Manchester Police will be relentless in its pursuit of those who use firearms on our streets and that is why any information that the public may have about these recent events should be passed to the police so that we can bring to justice the perpetrators.”

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said that the victim was sitting in his stationary car on Bickershaw Lane with the driver's window wound down when a black Audi A3 pulled up alongside him and the occupants discharged between one to three gunshots through their passenger window.

The Audi, which had been seen in the area, then made off.

The spokesman added: "The man was shot in the arm and hand and his condition has now been re-assessed. It is no longer life-threatening but the injuries are said to have been life-changing."

It was the third shooting in Wigan - an area in which gun crimes are relatively scarce - in the space of a week.

It was shortly after midnight on Thursday, September 12 when shots were fired at a house in Vicarage Road, not far from the Bickershaw Lane shooting.

Moments later, a 41-year-old lady was shot twice in the back through her window at Redland Court, a cul-de-sac just off Bolton Road in Ashton. She was taken to hospital but did not suffer serious injuries, and has since been released from hospital.

A 44-year-old man was later arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, and has since been released under investigation.

Insp Mark Ainscough, of GMP’s Wigan district, said: “Our priority is to find those responsible for this shooting.

“I can appreciate that incidents such as this will cause a lot of concern in the community but I would like to reassure the public that we have launched a full investigation into what happened.

“I am appealing for the public’s help to gather more information and need people who saw what happened to come forward.”

Anybody with information should contact police on 0161 856 7957, quoting log 1931 of 19/09/2019 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.