Gangs clash in city centre shoot-out
GANG warfare erupted in the centre of Manchester yesterday - and police say it is amazing that no innocent people were killed or injured.
Nine members of Moss Side's notorious Gooch and Doddington gangs were involved in fist-fighting and at least one shot was fired in Byrom Street and Quay Street just after 2.30pm.
It is thought five members of the Gooch gang may have lain in wait for their rivals after spotting a black VW Polo they knew belonged to someone from the Doddington.
When Doddington members returned to the car, they were set upon in Byrom Street.
Gooch gang members attacked the Polo with car-jacks - smashing the windows - and set about their rivals in a street brawl.
The Doddington gang members - thought to be four-strong - sped off in the damaged Polo, pursued by Gooch gang members in a dark purple-coloured Peugeot.
But the escape bid only got as far as Quay Street outside the Sports Bar, where a hand-to-hand battle resumed.
Blows were exchanged in the street, watched by stunned bystanders.
The confrontation came to a head when one of the Gooch gang members opened the boot of the Peugeot to get a gun.
Abandoned
He used it to shoot once or twice at the Polo before both gangs fled.
One of the gang members was seen to limp from the scene and it is thought he may been shot in the incident - which may have lasted about two minutes from start to finish.
Both cars were later found abandoned, one in Manchester and the other in Moss Side.
"It was in the middle of a busy afternoon in the city centre and it was lucky no one was caught in the crossfire," a senior detective told the Manchester Evening News.
"It was gang-related. It wasn't an arranged fight, it was spontaneous.
"They just happened to meet in the city centre and it was an opportunist encounter.
"The public can at least be assured that it wasn't just a random act."
Witnesses saw a gun and heard it being fired, although police have, as yet, found no spent cartridges.
And a check with local hospitals has revealed no one being admitted with gunshot wounds. One passer-by, who did not want to be named, told the M.E.N: "I walked right into it. There were eight lads involved.
Hooded
"The two gangs started fighting in the street.
"Two lads were running after the black car, one had what looked like a gun in his hand. His mate was saying `kill him, kill him'."
A 37-year-old IT manager, who witnessed the incident, said: "I was sitting in my office and looked out of the window on to Quay Street because I heard a bang and a screeching of tyres.
"Two youths were jogging quite casually along Byrom Street towards St John's Park, one of them was hooded, another had a gun in his hand."
Uncovered - the Tib Street streaker
Andrea Hall THE MYSTERY woman who has been running naked through Manchester city centre is a fitness fanatic mum of three who says she is streaking for peace.
Large crowds have been gathering every Friday on Tib Street to see her nude lunchtime sprints, with many shoppers and shopworkers trying to snatch a picture on their camera phones while laughing at the stunt.
Tongues have been wagging about the identity of the streaker, who sports nothing more than a pair of trainers, a scorpion tattoo on her back and a smile.
Now the M.E.N. can reveal the naked jogger is Andrea Hall, 29, from Manchester, who decided to go public with her nude exercise regime to lift the nation's spirits and promote Manchester as the city of peace.
Shouts
Andrea said: "I never thought it would get this much attention. I felt so helpless after the London bombings and I just wanted to bring a smile to people's faces.
"There has been nothing else in the papers or on TV recently. I'm a mother and I was thinking of all the mothers who might have lost someone and this was my way of expressing my freedom."
She sticks to a strict fitness routine to keep in shape and says she has been heartened by the shouts of approval she has received on her sprints. Her first run was the day after the London bombings on July 7 and she went on a second streak a week later. Andrea said: "Tib Street is like our equivalent of Soho and I wanted to promote how it is an open-minded place.
"It might have a seedy side, but it is exciting and has come a long way from the old days.
"I'm proud of being from Manchester and I think that area shows how far the city has come since we were bombed."
Police say they have not received any complaints over the streaking, but Andrea believes she cannot risk running nude again in public.
She said: "I think I would only do it again if it was sponsored for charity. It has been a laugh and it has cheered people up.
"The funniest comment I've probably had is when somebody shouted I was running the wrong way as Tib Street is one way only now."
GANG warfare erupted in the centre of Manchester yesterday - and police say it is amazing that no innocent people were killed or injured.
Nine members of Moss Side's notorious Gooch and Doddington gangs were involved in fist-fighting and at least one shot was fired in Byrom Street and Quay Street just after 2.30pm.
It is thought five members of the Gooch gang may have lain in wait for their rivals after spotting a black VW Polo they knew belonged to someone from the Doddington.
When Doddington members returned to the car, they were set upon in Byrom Street.
Gooch gang members attacked the Polo with car-jacks - smashing the windows - and set about their rivals in a street brawl.
The Doddington gang members - thought to be four-strong - sped off in the damaged Polo, pursued by Gooch gang members in a dark purple-coloured Peugeot.
But the escape bid only got as far as Quay Street outside the Sports Bar, where a hand-to-hand battle resumed.
Blows were exchanged in the street, watched by stunned bystanders.
The confrontation came to a head when one of the Gooch gang members opened the boot of the Peugeot to get a gun.
Abandoned
He used it to shoot once or twice at the Polo before both gangs fled.
One of the gang members was seen to limp from the scene and it is thought he may been shot in the incident - which may have lasted about two minutes from start to finish.
Both cars were later found abandoned, one in Manchester and the other in Moss Side.
"It was in the middle of a busy afternoon in the city centre and it was lucky no one was caught in the crossfire," a senior detective told the Manchester Evening News.
"It was gang-related. It wasn't an arranged fight, it was spontaneous.
"They just happened to meet in the city centre and it was an opportunist encounter.
"The public can at least be assured that it wasn't just a random act."
Witnesses saw a gun and heard it being fired, although police have, as yet, found no spent cartridges.
And a check with local hospitals has revealed no one being admitted with gunshot wounds. One passer-by, who did not want to be named, told the M.E.N: "I walked right into it. There were eight lads involved.
Hooded
"The two gangs started fighting in the street.
"Two lads were running after the black car, one had what looked like a gun in his hand. His mate was saying `kill him, kill him'."
A 37-year-old IT manager, who witnessed the incident, said: "I was sitting in my office and looked out of the window on to Quay Street because I heard a bang and a screeching of tyres.
"Two youths were jogging quite casually along Byrom Street towards St John's Park, one of them was hooded, another had a gun in his hand."
Uncovered - the Tib Street streaker
Andrea Hall THE MYSTERY woman who has been running naked through Manchester city centre is a fitness fanatic mum of three who says she is streaking for peace.
Large crowds have been gathering every Friday on Tib Street to see her nude lunchtime sprints, with many shoppers and shopworkers trying to snatch a picture on their camera phones while laughing at the stunt.
Tongues have been wagging about the identity of the streaker, who sports nothing more than a pair of trainers, a scorpion tattoo on her back and a smile.
Now the M.E.N. can reveal the naked jogger is Andrea Hall, 29, from Manchester, who decided to go public with her nude exercise regime to lift the nation's spirits and promote Manchester as the city of peace.
Shouts
Andrea said: "I never thought it would get this much attention. I felt so helpless after the London bombings and I just wanted to bring a smile to people's faces.
"There has been nothing else in the papers or on TV recently. I'm a mother and I was thinking of all the mothers who might have lost someone and this was my way of expressing my freedom."
She sticks to a strict fitness routine to keep in shape and says she has been heartened by the shouts of approval she has received on her sprints. Her first run was the day after the London bombings on July 7 and she went on a second streak a week later. Andrea said: "Tib Street is like our equivalent of Soho and I wanted to promote how it is an open-minded place.
"It might have a seedy side, but it is exciting and has come a long way from the old days.
"I'm proud of being from Manchester and I think that area shows how far the city has come since we were bombed."
Police say they have not received any complaints over the streaking, but Andrea believes she cannot risk running nude again in public.
She said: "I think I would only do it again if it was sponsored for charity. It has been a laugh and it has cheered people up.
"The funniest comment I've probably had is when somebody shouted I was running the wrong way as Tib Street is one way only now."
don't see why they would want to do that! i hear some strange stories when im out these days.