Shootings in Salford and Bolton part of 'escalating' gang feud

Police believe three shootings are connected

Three shootings in the space of 24 hours are part of a year-long "escalating" gang feud, said a senior Greater Manchester police officer.

Assistant Chief Constable Rebecca Sutcliffe said shots fired on Saturday in Salford and Bolton, and the shooting of a man in Salford, were linked.

There was no link with a fourth shooting in Bolton which happened later, she added.

Ms Sutcliffe appealed for local people to give police information.

"We absolutely need the community to come forward," she said.

'Rival groups'

A long-running investigation revealed a dispute between two "serious and organised crime groups" over the past 12 months, said ACC Sutcliffe of Greater Manchester Police (GMP).

In the first incident, a man was wounded in the back when he was shot through the window of his house in Mossbrook Drive, Little Hulton, at about 00:15 BST on Saturday. His condition is not known.

Later that day, two houses were sprayed with bullets in attacks at an address in Worsley Road, Bolton, at about 22:00 and one in Gorse Drive, Little Hulton nearly 90 minutes later. No-one was hurt.

Patrols had been stepped up but the shootings were "targeted" and there was no threat to the wider community, she added.

The three incidents are not being linked with a fourth shooting on Saturday afternoon in Bolton when a man was shot in the stomach outside a pub in Cannon Street, Bolton.