Five-year-old killed in street shooting

A five-year-old boy was killed and his stepfather was wounded last night in a shooting which police believe could be drugs-related.

The gunman, wearing a motorcycle helmet, emerged from a sidestreet in Bolton, Greater Manchester at about 5pm, and opened fire, hitting Dillon Hull in the head and his stepfather, John Bates, 28, in the stomach. Mr Bates was under armed guard in hospital last night.

Detective Superintendent Peter Ellis, of Greater Manchester Police, said: "It is very, very difficult to describe anybody who is prepared to shoot fatally a five-year-old boy. There is a line of inquiry which could suggest that the killing may surround drug activity."

Residents in the Daubhill area of Bolton, where the shooting occurred, said there was a bitter drugs war going on.

"The area is flooded with drug users and dealers. There has been a lot of trouble and some real nasty scenes lately. It is very tense at the moment," said one youth, who did not want to be named.

Neighbours heard three shots, followed by Mr Bates's screams for help. Mary Cooper, 59, said she rushed out of her house and saw a man, who she believed to be the boy's stepfather, standing over his son who had two bullet wounds to the back of the head.

"The stepfather was hysterical in the middle of the road. He went to pick the little boy up but I stopped him," said Mrs Cooper.

"The stepfather was shouting 'For God's sake, somebody help me. Not my son, not my son'. He was shot in the back of the head. I knew when I saw him he had no chance. When it happened he had a computer toy in his hand."

Solly Limbada, a newsagent, said Dillon was killed when he tried to stop the gunman shooting his stepfather.

"Mr Bates had been shot and was lying on the ground when Dillon got in the way. He was shot at point-blank range. He went towards the gunman to try to save his father. He loved his father. He often came in for sweets and usually had pounds 5 notes. He also went to school in a taxi, which was strange as Pikes Lane school is only round the corner," he said.

Others said that the house in Jauncey Street, where the family had lived for only a few weeks, had come under attack the previous night when a ground floor window had been smashed, possibly by a bullet.

A spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police said the boy's mother, Jane Hull, had asked her partner to go and bring Dillon for his tea and to fetch a bottle of pop from a local shop. Mr Bates was walking along Bankfield Street towards Dillon when he saw the gunman emerging from an alleyway. "The man produced a handgun, they turned to run and almost immediately the man opened fire wounding Mr Bates and fatally wounding the little boy," the spokeswoman added. "He fired another shot and it is believed the boy was hit in the head."

The gunman is believed to have arrived in the area in a yellow Metro, and after the shooting he fled across Deane Road, which was busy with traffic.

Ms Hull was said to be distraught and was being comforted last night.