Three men were arrested by armed police today after a spate of BB gun shootings across Oldham. The suspects were stopped by officers in an Armed Response Vehicle in Salford.
The men's car was intercepted on Bury New Road, Higher Broughton, Salford just after 1am today near the McDonald's restaurant. A spokesperson for GMP said: "Three men were arrested on firearms offences and a number of BB guns were recovered. "
The swoop followed numerous reports of BB guns being fired in Oldham over the past five evenings. Three hours before the arrests a discharge of a firearm was reported in Villa Road, Oldham, off the main A627, at about 10pm.
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Then at midnight there was another BB gun shooting in Union Street in the town centre. A member of the public managed to get a registration number of the vehicle the culprit was in and it was circulated throughout the force. No one was injured during the series of shootings. Two other suspects were arrested in a separate swoop on another vehicle.
In an online post Oldham Police said: "We're aware of reports being made to us in recent days about the use of BB guns in the local area. We'll continue to take positive action and actively pursue lines of enquiry. Currently, we have five in custody as well as seizing two vehicles and five weapons."
Meanwhile in another incident in Oldham a boy of 16 was arrested after reports of a person with what was believed to be a firearm prowling a the town centre. The teenager was detained after the alarm was raised during the middle of the day. A large number of police responded and made the arrest in the Union Street area at 1pm yesterday.
Footage of the incident posted online shows there was a large police presence by the Oldham Central Metrolink tram stop and dozens of people gathered in the street.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: “We were called at around 1pm to a report of a man with what appeared to be a firearm on Union Street, Oldham. A 16-year-old boy was detained and taken to custody."
The suspect has since been released and no further action is being taken against him. The firearm turned out to be a paint ball gun. Police said recently several people in Oldham town centre had been shot at with a paint ball gun.
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