11/09/2006

Teenager's shooting a case of 'mistaken identity'

Police have described the murder of a 15-year-old boy, who was gunned down in Manchester's Moss Side area on Saturday, as a 'clear case' of mistaken identity.

Jessie James was riding home on his BMX bike in the early hours of Saturday morning when he was shot by a semi-automatic pistol in a park on Raby Street. A post-mortem later showed that he had been struck by three bullets, one to his abdomen and two to his torso.

In a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Greater Manchester police described the case as a tragic instance of mistaken identity, ruling out any link between Jessie and local gangs. Detective Superintendent Tony Cook described him as a boy who “just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time”.

Jessie's mother, Barbara Reid, said that she could not understand why anyone would have wanted to kill her son, whom she said was “everyone's friend”.

"He was well liked within the community and he would be the first to offer to clean people's windows or cut the grass. He loved the outdoors and was adventurous. Everyone loved hanging out with him."

Jessie's killing comes less then three months after a 45-year-old man was shot dead in Raby Street, and a few weeks after three men were shot and wounded in two separate incidents in Moss Side, sparking fears in the local community that gun violence is on the rise in the area.

(CL)

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