Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has issued an urgent appeal for information after a drive-by shooting in Manchester over the weekend left a teenage girl hospitalised.
It has been confirmed that an investigation is now underway.
The investigation comes after police we were called to reports of a person injured outside an address on Quinney Crescent in the Moss Side area of the city shortly before 10.30pm on Friday 29 July, and the victim – a 16-year-old girl – was taken to hospital in a stable condition, with a wound that GMP says it believes was “caused by a firearms discharge”.
The teenage girl’s physical injuries are thankfully understood to not be serious, according to GMP, and officers are confirmed to be with her and her family as she continues to recover in hospital.
Detectives from GMP’s Longsight CID say they believe that a single shot was fired by a passing vehicle at a crowd outside the address where a party was being held, and while it’s not thought that the girl was the intended target, enquiries are moving at pace to “establish the reason for the incident” and the people responsible for it.
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No arrests are confirmed to have been made at this time.
In the aftermath of the shocking incident, an extensive cordon was put in place at the scene while police investigated, additional officers were seen patrolling the area, and wider Section 60 ‘stop and search’ powers were obtained to be used in parts of the Hulme, Moss Side and Whalley Range areas of the city over the weekend.
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Members of the public with concerns or information were encouraged to approach officers and talk to them with confidence.
“My thoughts are with the victim whose physical injuries are thankfully not serious, but that does not diminish what could’ve happened here as incidents of this nature are always reckless, serious and risk lives being lost,” said Chief Superintendent Robert Cousen.
“We’re doing all we can to unpick the circumstances of this incident and to ensure that whoever is responsible is caught and brought to justice.”
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#UPDATE | We've again authorised these measures between 4pm today & 4am tomorrow in the same area of south #Manchester.
We can stop & search people, as well as dispersing anyone from the vicinity we believe may cause harm or distress to others. Our priority's to keep you safe. https://t.co/6XMIk2YHVT
— Longsight & Moss Side Police (GMP) (@GMPLongsight) July 31, 2022
He continued: “I thank the local community for their support and cooperation while this takes place and ask anyone with information to get in touch, as we know there was a party happening last night that we are confident will provide us with a number of potential witnesses to what occurred.”
Anyone with information should contact us online via the LiveChat facility on the GMP website, or by calling 0161 856 4382 quoting incident 3388 of 29/07/2022.
Details can be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Featured Image – GMP
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Body of woman found in River Mersey last year finally identified after ‘extensive’ investigation
Emily Sergeant
The body of woman who was found in the River Mersey last year has finally been identified.
Following what has been described as an ‘extensive investigation’ by Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Major Incident Team to determine the identity of the body, which was sadly discovered in the river adjacent to Chorlton Water Park on 21 March 2024, the family of the victim has now been informed and supported by specialist officers.
The victim has been formally named as 38-year-old Laura Stanley, who was originally from Derbyshire but was living in Stockport.
After the body was discovered, and ‘exhaustive and determined’ investigation by GMP officers began to identify here, including detailed checks of both national and international databases.
The Major Incident Team (MIT) also closely worked in collaboration with specialist forensic service providers to create an anthropological profile, which eventually culminated in the creation of a facial reconstruction image.
Following several media appeals, a relative of Laura contacted officers and then a DNA match was confirmed through a familial link.
“Laura was a kind and gentle person with a great sense of fun and adventure,” Laura’s family said in a heartbreaking tribute to her.
“She was generous, thoughtful, caring and always keen to volunteer within the community. Laura was a proud and loving mum and she will be greatly missed by her girls and all of her friends and family who loved her dearly.”
The River Mersey, across from Chorlton Water Park, where Laura’s body was discovered / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
While Laura has now been identified, police say further investigations will take place to understand her last movements, the events that led to her death, and her discovery in the river.
Additionally, as is standard practice, GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate is also reviewing a previous missing report relating to Laura in the time before the discovery of her body, which will determine prior contact relating to Laura, and whether the appropriate measures were enacted.
#UPDATE | A woman who was discovered in the River Mersey last year has been identified following an extensive investigation by officers in GMP’s Major Incident Team.
Thank you to those of you who have shared our appeals over the last year.
Anyone who knew Laura and thinks they may be able to assist with the investigation is asked to contact police by calling 101, or by using the Live Chat Service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log number 1191 of 21 March 2024.
Alternatively, you can contact the Major Incident Team Syndicate 3 directly on 0161 856 9479, or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
It is currently believed that Laura was last seen around January 2024.
Featured Image – GMP
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More than 70,000 home buyers set to pay thousands after missing stamp duty relief deadline
Emily Sergeant
More than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline.
This sadly means they’ll be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra.
In case you hadn’t heard, up until yesterday (31 March 2025), anyone who was moving and had bought a home in the past was not required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, better-known as just stamp duty, on the portion of the property price up to £250,000.
But from today (1 April), this threshold has now fallen back to £125,000, which unfortunately means that property purchasers are facing an extra £2,500 in moving costs, on average.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those Greater Manchester buyers who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt from the deadline changes too, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000 as of today.
Person holding the keys to a new house in their hand / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
Given that the average property price for a first time buyer-type home is currently around £227,965, according to Rightmove, the new £300,000 threshold may hit those purchasing properties in more expensive areas – particularly the South East.
A third of those estimated 70,000 home buyers who have missed the deadline are thought to be first time buyers.
Leading property platform Rightmove published an analysis in February into just how much of an impact the end of the stamp duty relief would have on home buyers, all while calling on the UK Government to announce a short extension to the deadline to help people in the middle of the property purchasing process avoid potentially thousands of pounds in extra moving costs.
But despite these calls from industry leaders, there was no extension to the deadline announced in the last week’s latest Spring Statement.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has not used the Spring Statement as an opportunity to extend the impending stamp duty deadline for those currently going through the home-moving process,” commented Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“We estimate over 70,000 people are going to miss the deadline and complete in April instead, and a third of those are first time buyers.”
Emily Sergeant -
1st August 2022 
