Wigan shotgun victim's injuries now said to be "life-changing"

The latest victim of a shooting in Wigan was sitting in his car when his would-be assassins pulled alongside, police have confirmed.
Bickershaw Lane is taped off by police after the latest shootingBickershaw Lane is taped off by police after the latest shooting
Bickershaw Lane is taped off by police after the latest shooting

The 54-year-old was blasted up to three times at close range with a shotgun on Bickershaw Lane, Abram, 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.

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The terrifying ambush took place at about 4.20pm on Thursday; the roads around Abram were quite busy and children were being taken home from school.

Bickershaw Lane is taped off by police after the latest shootingBickershaw Lane is taped off by police after the latest shooting
Bickershaw Lane is taped off by police after the latest shooting

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 S3 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.

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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.

And Thursday's attack took place directly opposite the entrance to a former car park where 21-year-old Billy Livesley was murdered last December.

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Inspe 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.