On the streets of Oldham where two police scenes appeared just yards from each other this morning, residents say they are scared for their lives.
Belmont Street lies in St Mary's, just a stone's throw from the town centre. Last night (September 19), residents reported hearing gunshots on the quiet, residential road, and fearing the worst, called the police. This morning, officers confirmed they got the call at 11.15pm and rushed to the scene, but nobody was injured in the incident.
At around midday today, a second cordon was erected on Radcliffe Street, just metres away from the first. It is currently unknown whether the two incidents are connected, but for residents, the reality of living in an area where two scenes can appear within such a short timeframe, is 'scary'.
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"It's just too much, what is happening here now," one woman who lives on Radcliffe Street, who says she heard gunshots last night, told the Manchester Evening News . "I've got to go and pick up my little girl soon, and I worry for her. It's got really bad around here."
"You know there's something wrong when you can't go to sleep at night because you're worried," her partner added.
People living on nearby Belmont Street, where it has been confirmed that a gunman opened fire, were similarly concerned. "It's a bit scary," a long-time resident told the M.E.N. "It's lucky nobody got hurt. Anybody could've got hurt, we have kids around here too."
She said she has CCTV cameras installed in her windows because she is so worried about crime in the area, and felt sure she would've caught the perpetrators on them last night. But she told the M.E.N she was hesitant to show the footage to anyone - saying doing so would be risking her life.
"Personally I think if people are walking around with guns, they aren't bothered about anything," she said. "It's a scary situation to live in. Residents here are in danger. And yesterday was the day of the Queen's funeral as well, they really must not care about anything.
"I hope people realise that somebody could've been killed, whether it was a child or an elderly person, one of us could've been killed last night."
And she wasn't the only resident who was wary of consequences for sharing information with police and press. Many on both Belmont Street and Radcliffe Street were hesitant about giving their name, or even speaking, for fear that they would suffer ramifications.
One mother, who is raising four children on Radcliffe Street, said she wasn't surprised to see a police cordon on her road, but was nervous to discuss it with the M.E.N. She said her children felt 'scared' when they saw police presence in the area, and she was worried about letting them play out.
"I keep my children in the back garden, I don't let them play out on the street," she said. "It's the safest place for them".
Hero, 30, is another resident raising a child in the area. She lives on the estate just off Belmont Street, and said she feels unsafe and called the area 'horrible'.
"Nothing is safe here, not cars, not anything," she said. "There are homeless people sleeping in the stairwells, people shouting all the time. It's horrible."
Next to the convenience store opposite Radcliffe Street, a woman said living in close proximity to two police scenes was 'scary'.
"I have got two children with special needs," she said. "I think I'm going to stay away from this area tonight."
A Greater Manchester Police (GMP) spokesperson said: "We’re investigating a shooting in Oldham last night (19 September) which thankfully saw no one injured.
"Shortly before 11.15pm we were called to Belmont Street after a man was reported to have been shot at.
"We have a cordon in place where the incident is believed to have occurred and the scene is likely to remain for much of the day. No arrests have been made and an investigation led by Oldham CID is underway.
"Any information should be passed to us online via our LiveChat facility on our website or by calling 101 quoting incident 3193 of 19/09/2022. Details can be given anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."
No statement has been issued over the Radcliffe Street cordon yet.
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