The streets were busy as football fans headed to the Etihad Stadium for an important Premier League fixture. Manchester City were playing Brighton, as the Blues continued their campaign towards securing another league title.
Over the past decade, the club's success on the pitch has become a phenomenon. But in the midst of this crunch game, another phenomenon was playing out just just half a mile away.
The scourge of knife crime, a cancer on society. A huge police cordon had been erected, with a tent and screens put in place to shield members of the public from the horrors of what had happened about an hour before the City game kicked off.
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From the foreboding scene in Ancoats, it was clear that something very serious had occurred on that Wednesday evening, as fans headed to the Etihad and as commuters made their way home. The police statement issued minutes after the game had finished confirmed what many had feared.
A young man, in the prime of his life aged just 24, had been stabbed to death. A man with a son just four-months-old when his father died. Knife crime was the cause of another killing on Manchester's streets.
The scourge of knives is an issue of huge concern across the country. Statistics released this summer revealed that in all recorded killings, in the year ending in March, a knife or sharp instrument was the method of killing in 40 per cent of them.
And like many cities, Manchester is facing a serious problem. A recent report revealed there were 3,818 recorded incidents of knife crime in the year ending March 2021, a figure which increased by 18 per cent the following year, with 4,510 incidents being recorded.
The issue is particularly stark among young men and boys. The report issued by the deputy mayor of Greater Manchester's office also revealed that 43 per cent of suspects and 39 per cent of victims of knife crime in Greater Manchester are aged under 25.
In recent months both Andy Burnham and a senior GMP officer have denied that the statistics reveal a knife crime 'epidemic'. The Mayor denied there had been a 'massive increase' but conceded people would regard the figures as being 'far too high'.
Deputy chief constable Terry Woods said tackling knife crime is a top priority for GMP but said knife crime is also rising across the country. Courts in recent months have heard tragic cases involving the deaths of young people, at the hands of young men who have armed themselves with knives.
Dylan Keelan, 20, stabbed to death in Tameside, Rhamero West, 16, fatally knifed in Old Trafford, Reece Tansey, 15, stabbed to death in Bolton, and Josiah Norman, 17, fatally knifed in Salford. The latest case to conclude is the murder of 24-year-old Neri Morse, a new dad who was brutally killed in Ancoats close to the Etihad stadium before the Brighton game.
Startling testimony at his murder trial revealed what the attitudes of some who carry knives. One of the men accused of his murder, who was later acquitted, admitted he 'generally' carried a knife.
Asked why, he said: "For my own safety, because I live in Moss Side and it is a bad area to live in. Things happen most of the time, lots of people carry knives.
"Not to harm anyone though, just for my own safety." As common sense would suggest, the presence of knives during confrontations can mean that what may have descended at worst into a punch-up, can soon become a murder investigation.
That very scenario played out following a knife fight between feuding young men in Ancoats. Neri Morse and his nephew Driece Morse had burst into Zafs GoLocal store on Butler Street, at around 6.30pm on April 20.
Driece Morse had a knife and was wearing a balaclava. Inside the shop were Rushaun Brown and Meshia Newby, both 24.
The pair, from Ardwick and Hulme, had ventured to the shop to buy a slush puppie drink, Brown said. As shoppers went about their business, all hell broke loose.
Bottles were thrown, shouting and swearing was ringing out and knives were drawn as they came under attack from the Morses. The pair left the shop and were chased on foot down the street, until they doubled back and made it back to the VW Golf they'd arrived in.
Now they were on the offensive. Brown and Newby followed in the car behind a Seat Leon containing the Morses.
Traffic was heavy in the area because it was a match day. Both cars became stuck in congestion on Carruthers Street, so Brown and Newby, the passengers in the Golf, decided to continue the pursuit on foot.
Brown advanced to the driver's seat of the Seat, where Neri Morse was. Moments later Brown swung at him with a knife, with one blow connecting and piercing his heart. Newby knifed Driece Morse, who also struck out at his attacker.
The attackers fled. Knowing the gravity of what he'd been involved in, Brown arranged for the Golf to be torched.
Despite the best efforts of members of the public and paramedics, Neri Morse died that evening. His baby boy, then aged just four months, would never see his father again.
Another young life needlessly cut short, ended by knife crime, a scene of horror unfolding in public view.
Rushaun Brown, 24, was convicted of murder following a trial at Manchester Crown Court.
Meshia Newby, 24, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.
A third man, Jermaine Leahong, 23, was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter.
Brown, of Higher Ardwick, Ardwick; Newby, of Brydon Avenue, Ardwick; and Leahong, were also jointly charged with the wounding of Driece Morse with intent. Brown and Leahong, of Lagos Close, Hulme, were found not guilty on that count.
Newby was also found not guilty and instead convicted of the less serious charge of unlawful wounding. Newby was found guilty of possessing an offensive weapon, a knife. Brown had already admitted that charge, while Leahong was found not guilty of that offence.
On Wednesday, Brown was sentenced to life in prison, to serve a minimum of 24 years. Newby was sentenced to 14 years.
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