ANTI-gun crime groups have called for the Government to "stop talking and start acting" after a 13-year-old became the 15th child to be shot in Greater Manchester in 18 months

The boy was gunned down as he stood with friends outside a birthday party in Rusholme. Fellow guests had to hold a towel to his shoulder to staunch the wound until paramedics arrived.

Fourteen other victims aged 16 and under have been shot in Greater Manchester since April last year.

Three of those were killed including:

*Jessie James, the 15-year-old gunned down in a Moss Side park last September

*Kamilah Peniston, 12, shot dead by her brother in a tragic accident when he gained access to a gun buried in the back garden by his mother

*15-year-old Kally Gilligan of Salford, blasted to death with a shotgun by ex-boyfriend Josh Thompson after a break-up of their relationship.The 18-year-old then turned the gun on himself.

A further 11 children have received non-fatal bullet wounds.

Community groups warned it was time for "real action and not words".

"The Home Office say they are going to do this and that and then everything dies down," said Erinma Bell, chair of anti gun-crime community group Carisma. "We need to remind them that for us the gun issue is very real.

"It is not going to go away until real, strong measures are put in place - and resources put into the areas that need them.

"The politicians need to be really engaging with the communities or this kind of thing will keep happening.

Action

"We need real action and not words."

The latest shooting took place at 11.15pm on Saturday in Newport Street.

The victim had been at a birthday party being held for Shauntell Walters.

Shauntell's mum Angela, 39, said: "We didn't hear a thing because the music was on, but people came running into the back garden saying someone had been shot.

"I got a towel and gave it to them to help stop the blood.

"Everyone was very good calling for an ambulance and doing what they could to help.

"Obviously we couldn't carry on after that.

"I brought all of the children inside and got them to phone their parents and make arrangements to get home safely.

"I couldn't sleep afterwards thinking about what had happened. It could have been my child."

Shauntell said: "The bullet hit him in the left shoulder. He could have lost his life."

Also at the party was store detective and former Jamaican policeman Michael Reeves.

Mr Reeves, 31, said: "I was in the house when the kids came in saying someone had been shot.

"When I went outside to the garden, the boy was sitting on a chair and I could see the blood coming from his shoulder.

"There were some people around him applying pressure to the wound, so I moved the others away so that he could get some fresh air.

"At one point I saw his eyes start to go, he was fainting with the pain and because he was traumatised by what had happened.

"I called to find out where the ambulance was and they told me it was on the way.

"The people who were helping then laid him down on the floor."

The dad-of-three, who came to Britain ten years ago, added: "There hasn't been anything like this around here before.

"Nobody knows what it's about, whether it's something to do with gangs or a problem at school.

"I am thinking of moving house now."

The shooting happened at 11.15pm as the birthday party was in full-swing.

Police say the investigation is at an early stages but they are looking at the possibility that the youngster - thought to be from the Longsight area - may not have been the intended victim of the attack.

Neighbours who heard the gunshots said they thought the noise had come from firecrackers which had been going off earlier in the evening.

Anyone with information on the shooting should contact police 0161 856 4247 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
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