Callow Drive murder: Sheffield estate in shock after man in 20s shot dead in the latest of violent crimes

A huge area of Callow Drive in Gleadless is cordoned off by police today following a fatal shooting at around 1.30am today (April 9). Police activity is concentrated on the Newfield Building block of flats.

The victim, a man in his 20s, died at the scene despite the best efforts of paramedics. He has not yet been named.

The police response to the shooting has been enormous. At least 15 police vehicles are at the scene and the cordon encircles both the Newfield Building and the neighbouring Portfield Building. Crime scene investigators in white body suits are at the scene, as well as police dogs and more than two dozen officers.

It is unknown if the killing took place in one of the Newfield flats or in a communal area. But residents from floors one to three are not allowed to come and go today, as police carry out their enquiries. Dozens of cars are inside the cordon and cannot leave.

It has caused huge upset for neighbours – not least because any bank holiday Sunday plans will be in pieces, but also because residents, some stuck home alone, are scared stiff.

The Star spoke to one man who arrived early this morning exhausted from his night shift as a hospital porter to be told he can’t enter his flat.

He said: “My wife is inside by herself and scared. I can’t go in and see her and she can’t come out either.

"We have been asking for the council to put CCTV in this area for years now and it never happens. We’ve had, I think, 14 arson attacks around here, we’ve had stabbings, shootings, murders. I wrote to Louise Haigh [MP] about it. Will it take someone dying for something to be done?”

It is just the latest in a series of violent incidents over the years to rock the Newfield and Portfield buildings, and the surrounding areas.

In December 2021, a wheelie bin was set alight in the communal staircase of the Newfield block, prompting an enormous response by the fire service, on top of another arson attack a month before that.

Then in January 2022, after someone again – in the same night – set fire to a skip and then started a fire in the laundry room.

Also in January 2022, a manhunt using firearm officers was launched for a teenager who terrorised the estate. He stabbed four people and attacked a man with nunchucks. Callom Taylor, 19, was jailed that August for almost two decades.

And in September 2022, a boy, aged 14, and a 34-year-old man were both stabbed in an incident on nearby Landseer Close.

Anyone with information about this latest murder investigation can contact South Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 74, of April 9, 2023.

Anyone with CCTV or video doorbell footage, should email it to [email protected] quoting the same incident number in the email subject line.

The independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted by ringing their UK Contact Centre on freephone 0800 555 111, or by completing an online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org