CCTV captures terrifying moment hired thug with sawn-off shotgun opens fire at homes amid bitter gangland feud
Shooter Kieran Morgan and 'organiser' Zaki Shazad have been locked up
Shocking footage captures the moment a hired gunman fires at homes amid a bitter gangland feud. Kieran Morgan, 30, was caught on camera wielding a sawn-off double-barrelled shotgun opening fire in broad daylight and in the early hours in another appalling attack.
He also fired a shotgun in a busy takeaway in a third shooting committed within the space of a few weeks.
Zaki Shazad, 22, was the 'organiser' of the attacks, but was operating on behalf of unknown more senior underworld figures, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
A judge said the shootings had 'all the hallmarks of a dispute between serious organised criminals'.
Miraculously, no one was hurt in any of the incidents, which happened in March and April 2023. Now Morgan has been sentenced to 18 years in jail, and Shazad to 16 years in prison.
The first shooting happened on March 12 on Doric Avenue in Heald Green, Stockport. Morgan, with another man, was wearing a mask and dark clothing when he approached and fired a shotgun at the house.
He then threw a homemade explosive device towards the property, but it bounced off a wall before Morgan picked it up and threw it at a higher trajectory where it ‘went off like a firework’.
Greater Manchester Police said that forensic testing later the device contained hydrochloric acid. Morgan then fled the scene in a Mercedes.
The second shooting happened in broad daylight at a house on Wilmslow Road in Heald Green on April 21, when a family including a child were packing up their car for Eid celebrations.
Morgan arrived at the scene in the afternoon with a hold-all bag, containing the shotgun. Wearing a face mask, he opened fire towards the property. No-one was hurt but there was damage caused to the house.
The third shooting took place at the Drip burger bar on Kingsway nine days later, on April 30. Morgan entered the restaurant, immediately firing one shot before firing another soon after.
One hit a wall next to a TV, and the other hit the counter. Staff were behind the counter at the time and customers were in the front of the restaurant.
Prosecutor David Farley said those inside were ‘clearly and understandably terrified’. Morgan fled on a bike.
Shazad was the ‘organiser’ of the shootings. Messages sent between the pair on Snapchat show that Morgan was to be paid £1,000 by him for the ‘jobs’. Shazad, of Ranford Road, Levenshulme, was found guilty of conspiring to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life.
Morgan, of Petworth Avenue, Chadderton, pleaded guilty to the same offence. Police said that the three shootings were linked after officers received intelligence.
They trawled through CCTV footage which helped to identify Morgan, who was seen wearing a Canada Goose jacket. He later posted a picture of himself on social media wearing the same jacket.
His face was also seen on one CCTV clip after he had removed a balaclava. Shazad was also sentenced after he was caught trying to smuggle in cannabis to a relative who was in HMP Berwyn in North Wales. He pleaded guilty to conveying a list A article into prison and possessing cannabis.
Defending Morgan, Keith Harrison said the defendant has suffered from ‘recurring mental health problems’. For Shazad, David Bentley said that he was involved in assisting Morgan, but that he was not the ‘Mr Big’.
After the hearing, Detective Inspector Lee Newburn, of GMP, said: “Violence, particularly this kind of revenge violence, will not be tolerated on the streets of Manchester. We have seen two dangerous individuals locked up for their parts in a number of firearms discharges targeting properties where innocent people were present.
“It is miraculous that no-one was seriously injured during these firearms discharges, but they could very easily have been. One of the victims of these shootings has described to me how scared she now is to go out in public and just how shaken she is about what happened. Nobody should be made to feel like this.
“We continue to work very closely with the communities in and around Greater Manchester to ensure that we protect them from this kind of violence, and we are grateful for the intelligence that we receive from them in relation to illegal activity on a daily basis.
“We also work closely with the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), which is a multi-agency team we are part of, and we seek to prevent violence from occurring by addressing underlying issues and educating those who may be at risk of re-offending.
“We do this by providing valuable input in prevention work that our partners are carrying out on an ongoing basis, working behind the scenes to manage serious incidents before they occur. That is why we are asking, if you know anyone who is using, or possesses, an illegal firearm, we urge you to get in touch with us as, for each firearm we recover, that’s potentially a life saved."