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Warring families behind Salford and Bolton shootings, say police


Escalating violence between two gangs in Little Hulton, Salford and Bolton is behind a series of shootings in the area, police have said.

The feud is thought to be between two specific families in a dispute stretching back over 12 months.

Terrified local residents witnessed three shootings in the space of 24 hours over the weekend of 9-11 October.

SalfordOnline.com broke the news of a 48-year-old man shot in the back through the front window of a house on Mossbrook Drive, Little Hulton, at midnight on Friday 9 October.

Read: Man, 48, shot through front window of Mossbrook Drive house

His injuries were not serious and he is understood to have been discharged from hospital.

The next night at around 10pm four shots were fired by a gunman on a motorbike at a property on Worsley Road on the Farnworth/Walkden border. Bullets were lodged in the front door of the house but no-one was injured.

At 11.25pm the same night, the downstairs front window of a house on Gorse Drive in Little Hulton was shot at.

Armed police swarmed to both areas, closing off entire streets.

Salford and Bolton shootings: Two more houses shot at in targeted attacks

Detectives have not formally linked the shootings with the attempted murder of 34-year-old Darren Williams on Coniston Avenue in Little Hulton.

At 11.20pm on Monday 5 October Mr Williams was shot three times by a would-be assassin on a motorbike outside his home while his girlfriend and family slept inside.

Armed police and tactical aid units were called to Little Hulton area in the early hours of Thursday 8 October, where a 21-year-old suspect was arrested. He has now been released on police bail until 19 November.

Two other house shootings in Little Hulton in August and September are also being investigated to see if they are linked.

Read: Little Hulton shooting: House on Crescent Drive shot at by gunman

READ: Little Hulton shooting: Thornfield Grove house blasted while young family inside

Officers added that the shooting of a man outside a pub in Cannon Street, Bolton on Saturday 10 October is not linked to the feud.

Patrols have been stepped up in Little Hulton.

Local residents in the Eastham Way area of Little Hulton also reported to SalfordOnline.com hearing four or five gunshots at around 7.20pm on Sunday 11 October.

Greater Manchester Police could not confirm this.

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Tom is SalfordOnline.com's News Editor and community co-ordinator.