Gunman paid £1,000 a time to shoot up gangland rivals' homes and businesses

Daily Record

a day ago

Kieran Morgan has been jailed for 18 years over the shootings.
A hitman was to be paid £1,000 a time for carrying out gangland gun attacks on properties linked to his paymasters' rivals as a gang war exploded.
Kieran Morgan, 30, acted on the orders of 22-year-old Zaki Shazad, who was said to be operating on behalf of an unidentified gangster further up the crime ladder.
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A sawn-off double-barrelled shotgun was fired at a house, in front of a family at a home, and at a takeaway, where customers and staff were present, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
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Manchester Evening News reports Judge Jonathan Seely said: "This is appalling criminality with all the hallmarks of a dispute between serious organised criminals."
The judge said it was an incident "that perhaps 10 years ago would have been unthinkable in our cities, but is increasingly a terrifying phenomenon for the citizens of our country".
As he jailed Morgan for 18 years and Shazad for 16 years over the incidents, in which nobody was hurt, he said: "This is very, very serious criminality indeed."
Prosecutors told how the three shootings took place between March and April 2023. The first unfolded on March 12 on Doric Avenue in Heald Green, Stockport. Morgan was wearing a mask and dark clothing when he fired a shotgun at the house.
A homemade explosive device was then thrown towards the property, but it bounced off a wall before Morgan picked it up and threw it at a higher trajectory, where it 'went off like a firework'. Morgan then fled the scene in a Mercedes.
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The second shooting happened in broad daylight at a house on Wilmslow Road, on April 21, when an innocent family including a 10-year-old child were packing up their car for Eid celebrations at a neighbouring home.
Morgan arrived at the scene in the afternoon with a hold-all bag, containing the shotgun. Wearing a face mask, he opened fire towards the property. Nobody was hurt , but there was damage to the house.
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The third shooting was at the Drip burger bar on Kingsway nine days later, on April 30. Morgan entered the restaurant, immediately firing one shot before firing another soon after.
One hit a wall next to a TV, and the other hit the counter. Staff were behind the counter at the time and customers were in the front of the restaurant. Prosecutor David Farley said those inside were 'clearly and understandably terrified'. Morgan fled on a bike.
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Shazad was the 'organiser' of the shootings, prosecutors said. Messages sent between him and Morgan on Snapchat show that Morgan was to be paid £1,000 by him for the 'jobs'.
Shazad, of Levenshulme, was found guilty of conspiring to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life. Morgan, of Chadderton, pleaded guilty to the same offence.
Shazad was also sentenced after he was caught trying to smuggle in cannabis to a relative who was in HMP Berwyn in North Wales. He pleaded guilty to conveying a list A article into prison and possessing cannabis.
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Defending Morgan, Keith Harrison said the defendant has suffered from 'recurring mental health problems'. For Shazad, David Bentley said that he was involved in assisting Morgan but that he was not a 'Mr Big'.
Morgan was declared a 'dangerous' offender and handed an extended sentence. He will serve two-thirds of the 18 year prison term in custody and he was ordered to observe an extra five years on licence.
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Following the hearing, Detective Inspector Lee Newburn said: "Violence, particularly this kind of revenge violence, will not be tolerated on the streets of Manchester.
"We have seen two dangerous individuals locked up for their parts in a number of firearms discharges targeting properties where innocent people were present. It is miraculous that no-one was seriously injured during these firearms discharges.
"But they could very easily have been. One of the victims of these shootings has described to me how scared she now is to go out in public and just how shaken she is about what happened. Nobody should be made to feel like this.
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"We continue to work very closely with the communities in and around Greater Manchester to ensure that we protect them from this kind of violence, and we are grateful for the intelligence that we receive from them in relation to illegal activity on a daily basis.
"We also work closely with the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), which is a multi-agency team we are part of, and we seek to prevent violence from occurring by addressing underlying issues and educating those who may be at risk of re-offending.
"We do this by providing valuable input in prevention work that our partners are carrying out on an ongoing basis, working behind the scenes to manage serious incidents before they occur.
"That is why we are asking, if you know anyone who is using, or possesses, an illegal firearm, we urge you to get in touch with us as, for each firearm we recover, that's potentially a life saved."