Shortly before 5.20pm on Monday 30 March, police were called to Bolton Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield.
Witnesses described seeing a man wearing a balaclava get out of a white car and fire several shots towards a car wash before driving off.
A short time later a man attended hospital for treatment to serious injuries to his abdomen.
Detective Inspector Matthew Moore said the full circumstances of what happened or why “remain unclear” but said: “Such indiscriminate use of a firearm could have resulted in multiple deaths.”
In the early hours of Monday morning armed officers and bomb disposal experts were called to Formby Road in Duchy, Salford, at around 1am on Monday 30 March.
Shocked locals reported hearing a loud explosion and it emerged that a grenade had been thrown into a house on the street.
No-one was injured but police said the occupants who were in the property at the time were “extremely distressed”.
The house is believed to belong to drug dealer, named locally as Ryan Coward, who is currently serving a prison sentence in Scotland.
Police now believe the Wigan shooting is linked to the “targeted attack” in Duchy.
Detective Chief Inspector Clare Devlin from GMP’s Salford division, said: “While we are only in the early stages of our investigation, we believe this was a targeted attack and can confirm that a hand grenade was used.
“Clearly this is something we are taking extremely seriously and I am sure people in the area will be hugely shocked by this news.
DCI Devlin added that the force had a large number of officers dedicated to investigating exactly what had happened.
“Make no mistake that we are going to find out exactly what has gone on here and why, and catch those responsible. This kind of violent behaviour on the streets of Salford will simply not be tolerated.”
Anyone with information about either attack is asked to call police in confidence on 101, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
