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Residents in shock after two nights of gunfire

Dan Thompson
9/10/2008

GUNMEN fired shots at a house twice in two days, bringing terror to a leafy Alkrington street.

Residents expressed their shock and anxiety after a shotgun was used to blast the Penrhyn Avenue property on consecutive evenings.

Detectives said they were not prepared to speculate about possible motives. Patrol vans have remained on the street to try to reassure neighbours.

One resident, who asked not to be named, said: "It’s a very anxious, worrying time. I’ve never heard a gun before but it sounded like a loud explosion going off outside.

"We don't really know what’s going on. This is a quiet area and there are a lot of people who have been here a long time and some with young families. Everybody’s scared and in shock at the moment."

Police said shots were first fired at the house on Tuesday night (30 September). Officers attended the scene the next day and found damage to the front door.

That evening, at about 10.30pm on Wednesday 1 October, police received reports that more shots had been fired at the address, damaging the windows. No one was injured in either attack.

Police have launched an investigation in to the shootings and have appealed for witnesses to come forward.

Detective Inspector Daryl Chadwick, based at Rochdale CID, said: "At this stage, I would not want to speculate about a possible motive.

"Luckily, no-one was injured in either attack but the fact that the house was shot at twice in two days is very serious and a number of lines of inquiry are being actively pursued by officers.

"We are working very hard to rid guns from our streets and I would like to stress that incidents of this type in Rochdale borough are very rare.

"I would also like to reassure the local community that extra, high-visibility patrols will be deployed to the area to help allay any concerns.

"We are treating these two incidents very seriously and I would ask anyone with information, no matter how trivial you might think it is, to come forward so we can progress our investigation."

Anyone with information should call Rochdale CID on 0161 856 4646 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

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