Man arrested after double shooting in Washington
Sep 7 2010 by Tom Mullen, The Journal
POLICE were last night investigating a double shooting that left two men in hospital and a small North East neighbourhood in shock.
The incident happened on a stretch of wasteland close to allotments in the Teal Farm area of Washington in the early hours of Sunday.
Northumbria Police said two men, aged 37 and 36, were taken to hospital for treatment for gunshot wounds.
One of the victims has now been released from hospital, and the other is said to be in a stable condition.
Meanwhile, a 37-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm. He has been bailed.
Officers confirmed the shootings were targeted and involved people who knew each other – but no further information was released.
A police cordon was in place until around 5pm yesterday, a few hundred yards from the Teal Park housing estate.
Rumours were beginning to circulate among residents about what may have sparked the violence.
One man, who asked not to be named, claimed a policeman told him the victims were from Gateshead.
He also claimed to have been told the men approached officers, bizarrely claiming to have shot themselves.
The 50-year-old, who was allowed through the police cordon to visit his allotment, said: “They’ve apparently approached the first patrol car they saw and said they’ve shot themselves. One of them was shot in the thighs.
“People are saying it was a rival drug gang and they don’t want to reveal who it was because next time they could be killed.”
A 55-year-old woman, who was walking her dog close to the scene, said: “Somebody said there had been a serious assault and somebody had been shot in the legs.” Other neighbours described hearing the sound of the police helicopter circling around the time of the shootings, at 3.43am on Sunday.
Derek Dixon, 61, a construction manager who lives on nearby Thornbridge, said: “It’s the first incident of it’s kind. I’ve lived here since 1990.
“It seems to have been some sort of argument or something. It’s a weird place for it to happen.”
A 53-year-old man, who asked not to be named, said: “I heard a helicopter in the early hours of Sunday morning, which went on for a bit. When I came out for the newspaper in the morning I couldn’t get through. It was all closed off.”
Temporary Chief Superintendent Kay Blyth said: “I’d like to reassure the community that this is not a random attack and is an incident between people who knew each other.
“However, understandably when incidents like this happen it raises fear of crime in the community and extra police will be on patrol in the area to answer any concerns they may have.”
