two men are in hospital with gunshot wounds after two separate shootings on Sheffield streets in the early hours of New Year’s Day.
One occurred on one of the city’s busiest streets – London Road – and the other eight miles away on an area of grassland in the south east suburb of Halfway.
Police were alerted to the London Road shooting only when a wounded man in his 30s turned up at Sheffield Children’s Hospital just before 5am yesterday.
He was transferred immediately to A&E at the Northern General Hospital, where he remains in a ‘serious’ condition, with what police described as a gunshot wound to his shoulder.
The Halfway shooting was reported to police in ‘numerous calls’ from worried residents.
Armed officers were dispatched to a patch of grassland off Halfway Gardens, where an 18-year-old was found with a gunshot wound to his abdomen.
Police said the shooting, just after 3am yesterday, was a ‘targeted attack’ on a local male.
“Detectives believe this was a targeted attack, and officers have been carrying out inquiries in the area,” a South Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said.
Local residents told The Star of their shock.
Michael Williamson, of Halfway Gardens, said: “The first we knew was when we got up and there were police outside further up the road.
“At 2am when we went to bed we looked out and there was no sign of any trouble or police in the area, then a few hours later there were police everywhere.
“They taped off an area of grassland near The Double Top pub car park.”
Neighbour Dennis Cooney added: “It’s shocking - it’s normally a nice cul de sac.”
Both crime scenes were cordoned off and under police guard yesterday while forensics experts combed the areas for clues and officers carried out door-to-door inquiries.
London Road was sealed off between Boston Street and Hill Street, and an area at the corner of Hill Street was covered to preserve possible evidence.
Jalal Awel, who works in a convenience store on London Road, said: “When I opened up the police were outside. I didn’t know what had happened and people were coming in asking why the police were outside. There was a lot of interest.
“I have heard the odd group of youths shouting, things like that, but never anything serious like this.
“To think someone has been shot nearby makes you want to keep the doors closed for safety.”
Barrington Spence, of London Road pub Barry’s Bar, said: “I closed up and went to bed and heard nothing, so I was surprised when I woke up on New Year’s Day and saw the police outside.”
A South Yorkshire Police spokeswoman confirmed: “A man from Sheffield presented himself at Sheffield Children’s Hospital at around 4.55am on January 1 with a gunshot wound to his shoulder.
“The man, thought to be in his 30s, was taken to the Northern General Hospital, where he is being treated. His condition is said be serious.
“Detectives are currently working to establish the circumstances of the incident, although it is believed it occurred in the London Road area.”
Anyone with information about either shooting should call South Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 737 of January 1 for London Road, and 546 for Halfway.
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