Rising use of guns by rival drug gangs is growing concern for Cleveland Police

Detectives are not directly linking the incidents but one thread that appears to run through them all is drugs.

A number of tit-for-tat retaliation shootings have taken place around the Middlesbrough area in the last few months, luckily, so far only one person has suffered serious injury.

Detective Superintendent Helen Barker, who is heading up Cleveland Police’s response to the growing problem of firearms in the force area, explains what problems the force is facing.

She said: “There has been a number of firearms incidents across the force area over the last six months, we are not bringing the incidents together and we don't believe that they are linked at this time, in terms of those people committing those offences."

The slam-gun used by Leon Parkinson

One of the incidents involved a 'shoot-out' between men in broad daylight.

Leon Parkinson was caught on CCTV firing a homemade 'slam-gun' at a house on Maria Street, North Ormesby, before the Carl Eland chased him down the street brandishing an air pistol in June this year.

Parkinson is due to be sentenced later this month for his role but Eland was killed in a suspected, deliberate hit-and-run two months later as he cycled through Middlesbrough.

Carl Eland

Det Supt Barker said the growing use of homemade weapons is a concern for detectives.

She said: “Slam-guns is a problem nationally because of the ease that people have been able to make those weapons and that is certainly something that we would be interested in finding out more information about where those weapons are being made and who is making them.

“They are an illegally held weapon and can be very dangerous. There’s no regulation around them and they can’t held by anyone as they are an illegal firearm.”

Detective Superintendent Helen Barker

Explaining the rise in weapon offences, the senior detective says the driving force is drugs and rival gangs.

She said: “In all cases, there is an element of drugs in them – these are targeted attacks. These are not random attacks on members of the community, they are disputes between potentially rivals or fall-outs over drugs.

“It impacts on everyone and that is not what you want in your community or something that happens to your next-door neighbour.”

Despite only one person suffering significant injuries in the last six months, the officer believes it is only a matter of time before there is a fatality.

She said: "There has been one serious injury to date but it has tended to be property but that is just luck when they are firing at people’s front doors or into cars. They don’t know where that bullet is going to end up, it’s incredibly dangerous to discharge any firearm.

“There could be anybody behind that door and they don’t know at that time whether there is or isn’t anybody there.

“It is totally unacceptable, they will find themselves in significant trouble and potentially facing a long prison sentence.

"For me, the biggest thing is they are putting people’s lives at risk and whilst, at the time, you might think that is justified, you have absolutely no idea who that bullet might hit and by the time that has happened there will be nothing that they can do about it.”

•  A 20-year-old man has been charged with murder and with section 18 assault in connection with the death of Carl Eland.

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