Three shootings in half an hour leave man in hospital after night of mayhem on Sheffield estate

As police swarmed Sheffield’s Arbourthorne estate on Wednesday morning, it seemed the whole area was talking about the events of the previous night.

Three separate shootings happened in the space of half an hour on Tuesday evening, leaving one man with a shotgun wound to his leg and a community in shock.

While no one on the estate would claim the area is perfect, the rapid escalation in violence still represented a deterioration for a community which already has its fair share of problems.

As police conducted door-to-door enquiries in an area centred on Errington Road, residents spoke of their shock, but perhaps not surprise, at Tuesday evening’s violence.

One woman, who did not want to be named but who lives just yards away from one of the shootings, said she only realised the loud bangs were gunshots when police arrived.

She said: “I thought it was fireworks going off. There is lots of anti-social behaviour in this area. There was less trouble when the old pub used to be there.

“Lots of teenagers hang around there and on the shops. I have got young children and I am scared to let my teenage daughter out.

“You hear about it in London and Manchester but it happening on your own doorstep is really worrying.”

Police say they were first called to the area at around 6.20pm to reports shots had been fired at an address on Errington Avenue.

Then, at 6.38pm, they received reports of further shots fired at an address on Eastern Avenue where they found damage to a window consistent with shotgun discharge.

At 6:48pm, police received further reports from a member of the public of shots fired from a vehicle on Errington Way and then at at 6.50pm, a 35-year-old man attended Northern General Hospital with a shotgun injury to his leg.

Police say the man remains in hospital receiving treatment where his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

On Errington Way on Wednesday, one woman who lived near where police were inspecting spent shotgun cartridges, said she thought she had seen the men responsible.

She said: “There were three guys, about 17/18 years. They were stood on the road for ages, then heard the noise and then I saw them run past.

“I came out on my house because my dogs were barking. I thought it was fireworks. It was loud I know that. It’s just getting worse around here.”

Shortly after the shootings incidents, police say they pursued a blue Honda 4x4 which failed to stop for officers and remains outstanding.

It is assumed that all the incidents are linked but no arrests have yet been made, they added.

Police were out in force yesterday conducting enquiries and offering reassurance to a community that had once again found itself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

But many in the area felt that the influx was too little too late.

One man who lived near the site of one of the shootings but did not want to be named, claimed that unless the area got a more regular police presence, the violence would continue.

“The police know who it is - it is the same people every time,” he said.

Anyone with information about any of the incidents is asked to call police on 101 quoting incident number 808 of November 19 2019.