A 12 year old boy is in serious condition today after being shot at a gymnastics class last night.
Police arrived at Northfield Hall community centre at around 19:15 GMT on Tuesday, following reports of a disturbance, when they reached the location, the 12-year-old boy approached them with serious injuries.
The boy was taken to hospital, where he remains for treatment for serious, non-life threatening injuries “consistent with a firearms discharge”.
One mother said: “My daughter was in there doing gymnastics at the time.
“It was very frightening for us parents while the police decided it was safe for them to come out.”
A BMW was later found ditched in the Huddersfield area; this is the vehicle that suspects are believed to have used to flee the scene of the crime.
Detective Chief Inspector Vanessa Rolfe, from the West Yorskhire Police said: “This level of violence is clearly a cause for concern, especially given the age of the victim and that it happened at a community centre.”
“Those involved showed no regard for the public’s safety and it is imperative that anyone with information on who carried out this attack contacts police.”
The West Yorkshire Police is desperately appealing for witnesses.
“Extensive enquiries are underway by a team of specialist detectives in the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team.
“Our local neighbourhood policing teams will be maintaining a visible policing presence to offer reassurance to communities.”
Barry Sheerman, the Labour and Co-operative MP for Huddersfield, wrote on Twitter: “Deeply disturbed by the news of a young boy having been shot in Huddersfield, the police must hunt down the perpetrators with every resource they possess.”
A report for 2018/19 shows West Yorkshire Police as having the third worst gun crime problem in the country.
Levels of shootings using handguns, shotguns and rifles were only higher in the London and Birmingham areas.
