'I saw a man collapse on the ground' - resident says after man was shot in 'Bronx like' area of Kirkby

The man was shot on Southwell Close, Kirkby, at around 9.50pm last night (Monday, August 6)

It was reported that two men, wearing dark-coloured clothing, shot the man before fleeing the scene.

A 30-year-old man was taken to hospital with injuries which are not believed to be life-threatening or life-altering.

Residents have now compared the area of Kirkby to the notoriously crime ridden borough of New York City.

Kev Ashworth, who lives in Southwell Close, said: "We heard a really loud bang at around 9,30 in the evening, and at first we didn't know what it was.

"The area has been getting a bit like the Bronx recently, there has been a lot of violence and crime going off on the street and so I'm not exactly surprised to hear a gunshot.

"When we heard the bang my wife looked out of the bedroom window to see people everywhere.

"There were people fleeing in cars and the whole area was crazy, it was so loud.

"I heard a man say that he had been shot, and then when he came outside and started walking I saw him collapse on the ground.

"The police were very quick on the scene and the armed response team remained here for most of the night."

Extra officers have been sent to the area to provide reassurance to local residents as enquiries continue.

Donna Kirk, also from Southwell Close, said: "When I heard the loud bang I thought it was a car backfiring or something, because the natural reaction you have is not to think it is a gunshot.

"It was not my first thought that someone had been shot until I heard the helicopter and saw all of the police arriving on the scene.

"I would say it is very strange to hear a gunshot on your street, but there has been a lot of regular noise in the area for a long time.

"It has been an area of frequent low-level crime for a while, and if you look at most of the crimes you will see that they don't often get solved because there is so much."

Detective Chief Inspector Kevin Broadhead said: "We know this type of incident is worrying and upsetting for people and we want to be clear that your safety is our number one priority.

"We have sent a significant number of officers to the scene to keep people safe and investigate and will keep people updated as soon as we know more.

"Our enquiries are ongoing but at this early stage we believe the people involved are known to each other. At this time we are making extensive enquires to establish the full circumstances of the incident.

"We are here to keep the community safe and we can do that best when we have as much information as possible.

"Like the community we serve, we don't think there's any place for guns on the streets of Nottinghamshire and we’d urge the community to help us catch those responsible by letting us know anything they have seen or heard. Even a small piece of information can be vital.

"If you have any information please call us on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, quoting incident number 1050 of 6 August 2018."