'It was mayhem' - Terrified families flee 'gang shooting' outside Wolverhampton pub
Families were in hysterics and screaming at sight of machetes as shots were fired
Witnesses have spoken of the chaos as shots were fired outside a pub during a suspected gang attack.
Terrified customers were inside as men armed with machetes arrived at The Gatehouse Pub, off Stafford Road, Wolverhampton, at around 6pm on Saturday.
A man in a motorcycle helmet is understood to have fired several shots at the pub’s beer garden before fleeing in a car.
It is not known if anyone was attacked with the machetes.
Armed police were sent to the pub and restaurant, owned by the Hungry Horse chain, on the site of the former Goodyear factory in Donington Grove, Oxley, near the Aldi store off the A449.
The pub remained closed and cordoned off with police tape throughout Saturday evening but was back open as normal at 9am yesterday.
Two people took themselves to hospital with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening or life-changing.
Police said customers were immediately locked inside the pub for their safety, although some customers disputed on social media whether the doors had been locked, with some saying they had instead been told to get out of the pub.
Former security guard David Arrowsmith was at the pub with 17 members of his family – including six children – for a meal to celebrate turning 52 last week.
“I was just at the bar when everyone started screaming,” he said.
“It was mayhem. Someone shouted ‘they have a gun’ and there were chairs flying everywhere. We just grabbed the children. It was horrible.”
David’s partner Beverley Randell, 53, added: “People were hysterical and screaming.
“We just left everything, went back to our vehicles and just went home. It was the terror that really got to you.”
Chief Inspector Jack Hadley, incident manager for West Midlands Police, said that the ‘terrifying’ attack was targeted and likely to be linked to gangs in the area.
Officers have been trawling CCTV and speaking to witnesses at the scene and at the hospital but so far nobody has been arrested.
“This must have been a terrifying experience for customers at the pub and I would like to reassure them that we will leave no stone unturned in our hunt for the gunman,” Ch Insp Hadley said.
“Early indications are that it is gang related and not a random attack.
“I would ask that anyone who witnessed what happened and has not yet spoken to police to contact us on 101.
“Equally if anyone captured anything on their mobile phone, please share the footage with us to assist with our investigation.”
Yesterday, staff at the pub said it was now back to ‘business as usual’.
