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04/10/03 - Man murdered in
drive-by shooting
Jason Bennetto Crime Correspondent
Independent
ONE MAN was murdered and another injured in a drive-by
shooting in the Home Counties yesterday.
The shooting, outside a health club in the market town
of Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, took place at 9.20am when
two gunmen pulled up in a van and opened fire with an
automatic weapon at the two victims, who were standing
outside the Physical Limit gym inBrewery Road. Nearby
cars were sprayed with bullets.
The men then fled in the Peugeot van, which was later
found abandoned and on fire about half a mile away.
One man is thought to have been shot in the chest and
legs and died on his way to hospital. The other received
minor wounds. One of the victims was reported to be
the new owner of the gym, while other reports suggested
the two men were bodybuildersleaving the club.
One witness described finding the dying man on the
pavement. "My girlfriend and I were in the back
room of our house when we heard `bang, bang, bang' -
it happened about three times in quick succession,"
he said.
"I ran out to the front room and there was no
vehicle in sight. I walked down and there was a body
on the ground.
"There were two guys standing over him and I ran
over to help and see if there was anything I could do.
"The man was bloodied and laying on the ground
by a car. He had bullet wounds to his chest and legs.
I just tried to get some towels and compress the wound
to stop the bleeding."
A bullet-scarred blue Peugeot sports car, which had
all its windows shot out in the attack, was taken from
the scene yesterday afternoon.
Another witness added: "It looked like they came
down the hill on the other side of the road, pulled
up close, and opened up through the car. It looked like
shots were fired through the car. It looked like him
[the victim] and a friend were coming out ofa health
centre and both were injured."
Police are still trying to establish a motive for the
attack. They are investigating possible drug links and
disputes involving local criminals. The injured man
is helping police with the murder hunt.
Dave Holtby, whose shop is opposite the scene, said:
"We heard several shots at about 9.20 this morning.
"It's not something you expect on your doorstep at
any time of day, especially in a quiet town like Hoddesdon."
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