The gang-torn UK town being ripped apart by live-streamed shootings & Breaking Bad-style meth labs

IN the dead of night, a shattering series of bangs reverberated around a Greater Manchester street.

Mistaking it for fireworks, startled residents peered out of their window. When they realised it was gunfire, some panicked - others simply went back to bed.

The shocking 1am attack on a home in Prince Edward Avenue, in the Clarksfield area of Oldham, was live-streamed on Snapchat last week, with footage appearing to show a man firing at least six shots through a window.

Defiant locals insist the terrifying incident was out of character for the street, but after a spate of gun-related crimes in Oldham, they fear the area’s culture of drugs and gang violence is increasingly spiralling out of control.

It comes amid growing concern about firearms offences in the UK, which have risen nine per cent nationally year-on-year and come under scrutiny following the horrific death of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in Liverpool in August 2022.

Nadeeem Iqbal, a 45-year-old father-of-four and councillor for the ward, lives on Prince Edward Avenue and went out to check on the family after the attack.

He said: “It was a shocking moment. We came straight out of the house once we realised there had been gunshots and people were screaming and running about.

“We checked on the family and they were okay, luckily they didn’t answer the door.

“The only saving grace from this is that it was a targeted and isolated incident. This is not normal for this street.

“But the police did their job and responded quickly. There were families and children out on the street, with a lot of people upset and scared.

“Oldham has seen a few incidents of gun crime in recent weeks and this needs to be clamped down.

“We do not know what is behind this but it is a worry when guns are in your community, one hundred per cent.”

Two men and a woman, all in their 30s, were later arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear. No injuries were reported.

A 36-year-old man has been charged with possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and affray.

Another man and a woman, who are both in their 30s, have been bailed after being arrested in connection with the incident.

A 59-year-old man who lives on the street told us: “I heard a bang at around 1.15am and thought it was fireworks but soon realised it was gunshots. I didn’t get up, I just went back to sleep. I wasn’t scared at all. I don’t scare that easily.

But one mother, who did not want to be named for fear of repercussions, has a different view.

She said: “I am absolutely distraught, this is not what you expect on your own doorstep.

“It is so scary to think people have come into our street carrying weapons.

“People don’t seem to realise what’s happening here - that innocent people can get caught up in gun crime. Just look at the case in Liverpool where a nine-year-old girl was shot dead in her own home.”

Last year Oldham was highlighted as one of the UK's crime hotspots in a landmark report advising the Government on its levelling-up strategy.

A 2022 report estimated there were 176 organised crime groups (OCGs) operating across Greater Manchester, with almost a quarter of the gangs identified said to have access to guns. Drugs are said to remain the 'primary crime type' for the vast majority of the gangs.

Of the 176, 55 active organised crime groups are said to be 'impacting the city of Manchester' - accounting for 31 per cent of all known OCGs in the county.

Oldham and Salford have the second highest number of organised crime groups, with 19 and 18 respectively.

The sprawling reach of these criminal networks was illustrated in a crackdown late last year, which saw a Manchester gang jailed over a multi-million pound drugs ring supplying the entire North West.

Read more: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/27873930/oldham-attack-guns-organised-crime-manchester/

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