2020 Moss Side shooting


At about 12:30 am on 21 June 2020, two young men were shot dead at a street party in Moss Side, an inner-city area of Manchester in North West England.

Background

The shooting took place at an after party, illegal under COVID-19 lockdown rules. In other illegal raves in Greater Manchester shortly before the incident, a man had died of a suspected overdose and a woman was raped. The police say there are many considerations when it comes to shutting down or letting raves continue. The after party was an unplanned event that followed a Black Lives Matter barbecue that had been earlier held nearby, but was unconnected to this prior event, which peacefully finished at 20:00.

Incident

During a night time street party in a car park in Moss Side at the junction of Caythorpe Street, Broadfield Road, and Bowes Street a man opened fire on those attending at about 00:30 BST, causing them to run screaming from the area. Gunshot was reported at a location on Caythorpe Street, with armed police responding to the scene at 01:00. They discovered a party attended by hundreds of people, in violation of COVID-19 lockdown guidelines in the country at the time. The police report that a "community event" had taken place in the area earlier in the day, and the party had been an unplanned after party but still had a DJ. A local resident said the party had begun at around 22:00 the night before, and that Moss Side was a peaceful neighbourhood with infrequent spikes of violent activity.

Casualties

The two fatally wounded men self-presented at an Accident and Emergency department, either shortly before 01:00 or at about 01:30, dying later. Initially one death, of a man aged 36, was reported before the other man, aged 21, also died.

Investigation

A murder investigation was opened the same day. On 26 June 2020, a 32-year-old Birmingham woman was arrested on suspicion of the murder of the two men.