Jessie James

Jessie James was shot in Broadfield Park in Moss Side shortly before at 2.40am on 9 September 2006.

He had been cycling through the park on his bike with friends when a gunman that had been hiding in the bushes shot him four times. He had been shot with a semi-automatic handgun and hit three times.

He was found close to a children's playground and basketball court near the back of the Powerhouse store, on the ground with his bike by his side. He was found by his friends who had cycled off when they heard the gun shots. They had gone back to look for him and had called his mobile phone and followed the sound of his ring tone to the place where he was on the ground. They then called the police but when they came out they found that he was already dead.

He had earlier been to the West Indian Centre in Moss Side where he and his friends had bought fizzy drinks and talked in the car park and had then gone off towards another event on Caythorpe Street, the route to which took them along Raby Street and through Broadfield Park.

It was said that Jessie James was not involved with gangs but that Broadfield Park was generally considered to be the territory of the Doddington gang and that he had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The police said that they thought that his murder could have been a case of mistaken identity.

It was said that he might have been caught up in a gang feud and that the gunman might have been a member of the Gooch gang that was waiting for rival Doddington gang members who considered the park as their territory.

However, the attack was said to have been planned.

It was said that tensions between the two gangs were high after several tit-for-tat shootings had taken place between them in the weeks beforehand.

It was said that several witnesses had kept quiet about what they had seen and that that had hampered the police investigation and that there had been a wall of silence.

Later a person came forward with evidence and two people that were at the time in prison were arrested on suspicion of Jessie James's murder but the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the case after saying that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute.

Broadfield Park was also known as Rec Park.