Police are on the hunt for a gunman after the fatal shooting of two men at a car park near a party attended by hundreds of people.
Junior Ajose, 36, and Cheriff Tall were gunned down and killed at the party in Manchester’s Moss Side on June 21, 2020. Police believe the killer to be from Birmingham, according to reports in Birmingham Live. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said in a renewed appeal that vital evidence is needed to bring in the suspect who used the firearm, and investigators believe the person has connections to Birmingham and is not from the local community in Manchester.
GMP appealed to people to take note of the £50,000 reward and that anyone who came forward would not be a “grass.” Detective chief inspector Neil Higginson urged people in Manchester to avoid protecting the suspect and added that police are continuing to work hard on finding the killer. Nobody has been charged over the deaths, four years on from the shooting.
Tall was described as a 'lovely guy'A GMP spokesperson said: "The shooting took both their lives of 36-year-old Junior Ajose and 21-year-old Cheriff Tall in the early hours of Sunday 21 June 2020 in a car park off Caythorpe Street in Moss Side. Under Operation Tarnbrook, vital evidence to apprehend the outstanding suspect who used the firearm is still needed. Those we have investigating strongly believe the person has connections to Birmingham and is not from the local community in Manchester.
"Over the years the investigation has seen several warrants carried out which has also led to several people being questioned in custody and the seizure of mobile phones for forensic analysis. A £50,000 reward launched last year, for key information that leads to the discovery and conviction of the killer remains available as we try to tirelessly piece together evidence to bring the offender to justice."
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Abayomi 'Junior' Ajose (GMP.)
Mr Ajose was a dad of three (GMP.)An inquest in February this year heard that “Good Samaritan” Mr Ajose stepped in after the gunman shot Tall in the head. Mr Ajose attended the party with his brother-in-law and an old school friend.
Previous reports indicate detectives identified 456 people who were there at the party on the day at some point - children also attended - to celebrate the Black Lives Matter Movement. Between 300 and 400 were there at the time of the shooting after it turned into a party for adults from around 8pm.
The court heard that Mr Ajose’s brother-in-law saw the former walking off and heard gunshots around five minutes later. They heard a “loud bang” initially thought to be fireworks, according to DCI Higginson. The court was told that a second loud bang was heard.
Both men were shot in the head, according to a post-mortem (MEN Media)Camera footage from 12.48am on the morning the incident occurred is believed to show Mr Tall. The footage begins to shake amid what DCI Higgerson said appears to be the the start of “some form of issue or altercation” near bay 10 of the car park. Blood stains were later found there.
A person can also be heard saying “Is that Sherry?” in the footage. Sherry was Mr Tall’s nickname. It is believed that around 20 seconds occurred between the shootings and that Mr Ajose had intervened after Mr Tall was shot.
Both men were shot in the head, post-mortems said. DCI Higginson called the killings “unusual” because they occurred “in front of so many people.”
At the inquest, Manchester Area Coroner Zak Golombek said he received a statement from Mr Tall's mother Suwaidu Sanyang. She told him what “a special young man he was.” Mr Tall’s brother Yankuba Sambou also said his late sibling was a “lovely guy” and “just a normal kid.”
Mr Ajose was married for 13 years and shared three children with his wife Lola. The Manchester Evening News reported Mr Ajose’s family was too upset to attend the hearing. These were senseless acts of violence against two innocent individuals. I cannot imagine the pain and suffering you as a family and everyone else who knew them must have suffered at the time and continues to suffer," Mr Golombek said.
In a statement this week, DCI Higginson said: “It’s four years since Cheriff and Junior went to a party and did not return. Their two families remain devastated by their losses. We can never bring Cheriff and Junior back, but we can make things slightly better for their loved ones by bringing them the justice they are so desperate for, and we can only achieve this with the help of the community.
“We know that there were hundreds of people in the car park that night and I’m sure that many people must have seen something, whether that be the full incident or just part of it. However, there has been a reluctance for those witnesses to come forward with information.
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"I understand that people might be scared, and that is normal given what has happened but, there is a range of measures that we can put in place to keep witnesses safe. Evidence can be given on video or behind a screen. It could also be that we could apply to the courts for the witness to be anonymous if there are grounds to do so.
“I’d just ask for you to come forward and we can have an honest chat about what we can do, as you don’t have to commit to giving a statement in the first instance. The person responsible for these murders we believe is from Birmingham and he is not a member of the local Moss Side community, so should not be protected.
“Anyone who comes forward in this case is not a ‘grass’ for helping the police, they are simply doing what is right for two families who have had their loved ones taken from them in terrible circumstances. No one deserves that. When we have worked together in the past, we have achieved great results and if we work together again, we can get justice for Cheriff and Junior.”
Reports can be made anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. GMP can also be contacted in confidence on 0161 856 2035, quoting incident number 221 of 21/06/20.
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