‘Scenes of mayhem’ in city shopping centre as ‘gang in masks’ run riot

Around 20 masked youths wreaked havoc on a shopping centre, targeting people and property. The chaos at Salford Precinct was over almost as quickly as it began, as the group quickly dispersed when cops arrived on the scene.

After reviewing ‘extensive’ CCTV footage from the scene, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) believes several criminal offences occurred. Members of the public were assaulted with stolen fire extinguishers, vehicles were tampered with and jumped on, items were stolen from a grocery shop and used as projectiles against buses, and bins were set alight. Further shoplifting offences and damage to shop signage were also seen in the footage.

Despite the significant damage caused on the evening of Monday, January 27, only one call about the incident was received by GMP at 6.30pm – the full extent of the chaos only became clear as police reviewed CCTV in the days following the incident. In a statement, GMP identified the ‘three main offenders’ from the evening.

One was arrested, while the other two were dealt with by voluntary interview. . They have also been formally banned from Salford Precinct.

A spokesperson for GMP Salford stated: “Salford Central Team 3 have proactively worked to deal with these incidents and progress the criminal investigations. This direct work has now significantly reduced anti-social behaviour in and around Salford Precinct.”

“However it is clear that there is a significant lack of reporting in the area. We are asking residents and the community to please report all incidents of anti-social behaviour to GMP by the following methods: 101 / GMP Online Report. All reports can be made completely anonymously.

“There is no requirement to provide any personal information and all information provided is held in confidence and completely confidential. You can also contact your local Neighbourhood Police Sergeant for Pendleton and Charlestown, PS 13490 Atherton, via email: [email protected]”.