| Wannabe in my gang?
- Articles |
04/10/03 - Bodybuilder shot
dead outside health club
By Sandra Laville
The Telegraph
One man was shot dead and another badly injured yesterday
in a drive-by shooting outside a health club.
Residents in Hoddesdon, Herts, described hearing automatic
gunfire as traders were setting up their stalls in the
market square nearby.
Witnesses said a white van was driven up to the Physical
Limits Health Club in Brewery Road and repeated shots
were fired at two bodybuilders who had just walked out
and were standing by a blue Peugeot.
The fatal shooting came days after David Blunkett,
the Home Secretary, was put under pressure to tackle
gun crime by relatives of Marian Bates, who was shot
dead during a raid on the family jewellery shop in Nottingham
on Tuesday.
In Hoddesdon yesterday residents described their shock
at witnessing what bore all the hallmarks of a professional
hit.
Michael Priddis, who was nearby when the shooting happened,
said the scene was more like a film than reality.
He said: "All the cars in front of the gym are
peppered with bullets. We live in a little town with
a few shops and everyone just gets on with their business.
Two men being shot down in this sort of town just seems
unreal."
The men were attacked shortly after leaving the gym
at 9.20am. Paul Bryan, who owns the fish and chip shop
next door, said: "We heard this sudden burst of
gunfire going off for about three or four seconds. There
must have been at least eight or nine shots and there
are bullets in the driveway just inches from my shop."
He said both men were regulars at the gym. "I
often see them coming out in the morning and standing
there talking just like yesterday."
Karen Michael, a taxi driver, said: "I thought
it was fireworks. Then the police turned up in the square
and CID men were getting out of cars and running across
to the gym."
Shortly afterwards, the white Transit van used by the
gunmen was found abandoned and burning in a road nearby.
Eric McIllwraith, a resident, said he saw one man lying
on the ground with chest and leg injuries.
"The man and his friend had just left the health
club," he added. "It looks like they have
been shot through the window of a passing car."
A spokesman for Hertfordshire Police said: "One
man has died, the second man sustained minor injuries
and is helping police with their inquiries."
In August, 2000, two armed robbers were convicted of
murdering a Sicilian millionaire's wife while stealing
her Rolex watch in Hoddesdon. They were sentenced to
eight life terms in jail.
• Police hunting Mrs Bates's killers said they had
traced two potentially vital witnesses, men who challenged
the robbers as they fled on a moped. |
| Contact : bernard.omahoney@bernardomahoney.com |
|
|
|
