Moment ‘innocent’ woman, 30, shot dead outside Sheffield bar as police hunt gunman

A woman shot dead while celebrating the Bank Holiday with friends in a nightclub was an ‘innocent bystander’, police have said.

The 30-year-old woman, from Sheffield, had been partying at the One Four One bar on West Street when a suspect opened fire at 2.45am on Monday.

She was found with serious injuries, and was taken to hospital where she later died.

Chf Supt Jamie Henderson, the district commander for Sheffield, said a team of detectives is working to identify anyone else who may be involved and to ensure that all those responsible are arrested.

Mr Henderson said: ‘Following extensive inquiries over the last 36 hours, we believe the victim was an innocent bystander who was on a night out in our city to celebrate the bank holiday weekend.

‘Gun crime causes devastation within families and communities.

‘In this case, an innocent woman who should have been able to safely enjoy a night out in Sheffield has been killed, and her loved ones have been left to face the heartbreaking reality that they will never see her again.

‘While we are doing everything we can, we need our communities to work with us in helping us to find illegal guns and those who intend to use them.’

South Yorkshire Police have released a CCTV image showing a white Audi that they believe was involved in the incident, and are appealing for anyone who was on West Street or Eldon Street in the early hours of Monday morning to come forward if they saw anything.

Two men and a woman have been arrested on suspicion of murder following the incident and all three remain in police custody for questioning.

One man, 30, and the woman, 32, were arrested near Stockport in Greater Manchester during the early hours of Monday morning, while the second man, 30, was arrested in Sheffield, according to the force.

Mr Henderson added: ‘We need your help.

‘We know that West Street and Eldon Street were both busy at the time of this incident, and there were people who saw what happened who haven’t come forward yet.

‘In the next hour we will publish an image on our social media channels which shows where the incident happened and a vehicle we believe was involved.

‘If you were out in Sheffield in the early hours of Monday morning, please take a look at our website or Facebook page and report anything you saw to us.

‘We also know there are others within our communities who know who is responsible or who is involved in gun crime but feel too scared to tell us what they know.

‘In terms of our approach to gun crime in Sheffield, one shooting is too many.’

West Street is a busy area of the South Yorkshire city with bars, restaurants and shops that are popular with university students and locals alike.

On Monday evening, several police vehicles could be seen parked within a cordon.

Earlier in the day, police had urged drivers to avoid the area as some of the surrounding roads remained closed.