22 January 2024 , 22:57
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This footage shows the heart-stopping moment a gunman fired at a completely innocent man and child in their car in a horrific gangland shooting.
Daniel Whelan was aiming at a Ford Focus when he instead hit an adjacent car next to it carrying a man and his 10-year-old daughter. The two were driving home on a street in Oldham, Greater Manchester, when they were shot at with a semi-automatic gun.
Thankfully, the two were uninjured although police said the shooting could have had "tragic" consequences. Gunman Whelan, 32, had meant to shoot a gang of men in revenge for robbing him and accusing him of being a "grass", a court heard.
He and his brother, Alex Whelan, 26, were both cleared of attempted murder at Manchester Crown Court. The older Whelan however was jailed for 12 years after admitting to possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has now released CCTV of the moment both Whelans pulled over in a grey SUV, as Daniel jumped out of the car and tried to shoot at his targets with a 9mm calibre handgun, instead hitting the Peugeot next to it.
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The court previously heard how, moments before the shooting on July 5 last year, Daniel Whelan was seen on CCTV on Great Gable Close, in Oldham, speaking to the occupants of a VW Golf before Alex Whelan pulled up in the same car park in a BMW X3. An unknown man then got out of the Golf, punched Daniel Whelan and robbed a white carrier bag from him which had remnants of cannabis in it.
Daniel Whelan was jailed for 12 years after pleading guilty to the shooting (Men Media)The man then "threatened and accosted Alex Whelan" through the driver's door window, before others got inside "to continue the assault and robbery," prosecutor Alaric Bassano told jurors. Feeling "aggrieved", both men allegedly "sought revenge", prosecutors said.
CCTV then showed Daniel Whelan get into the passenger seat of the BMW before they both left, carrying out the shooting a short while later. A 9mm bullet casing was later found by crime scene investigators, the Manchester Evening News reports.
The owner of the Peugeot was initially unaware that his car had been hit but did tell police he had heard a 'loud bang' as he approached the junction. Jailing Whelan, the Recorder of Manchester Judge Nicholas Dean KC, concluded Daniel Whelan was seeking 'some form of retribution'.
"You were demonstrating your ability to possess a firearm and to use it," he said. Whelan will serve two-thirds of the term in prison before being released on licence.
Detective Constable Andy Pearson of GMP's Operation Challenger Team said: "One of our continued priorities across the force is ensuring that the communities of Greater Manchester are safe from serious violent crime and thankfully this investigation allowed us to remove a dangerous individual from our streets."
"Thankfully, whilst no one was injured during the incident, it was clear that there was no consideration shown by Whelan for the safety of members of the public who were in the area at the time, the situation could have easily been very different and could have had tragic consequences.
"Whelan is now behind bars for the foreseeable future which will stop him from committing any potential acts of violence with a dangerous weapon; he is no longer a threat to the people of our communities."