Five women from Birmingham arrested in connection to Moss Side shooting
Cheriff Tall and Abayomi Ajose were murdered in June last year
Last updated 28th Oct 2021
Five women aged between 24 and 33 in Birmingham have been arrested in connection with a double murder in Moss Side.
Cheriff Tall, 21, and Abayomi Ajose, 36, were shot at a street party on 21 June last year.
The pair, who did not know each other, were both shot in the head at the outdoor party attended by up to 400 people last summer.
Their killer still remains at large.
Five home raids across Handsworth, Birmingham and Stourbridge, supported by the National Crime Agency and West Midlands Police were carried in the early morning, says Greater Manchester Police.
The women, who are aged between 24 and 33, are being questioned on suspicion of assisting an offender.
The polices prime suspect is thought to have fled abroad and disappeared.
The suspect was one of group of about 20 people from Birmingham who attended the party.
Officers have spoken to over 450 witnesses of the double homicide.
A 32-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of murder at the time of the deaths and later released on bail.
"Shockwaves throughout the Moss Side community"
Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Wilkinson, of the Major Investigation Unit, said: "The murder of these two men caused shockwaves throughout the Moss Side community which are still felt over a year on from the shooting, and the families have been left with many unanswered questions and no one to hold accountable for the death of their loved ones.
"Our detectives have been working continuously on this case for over a year, collecting all available evidence both forensically and from witnesses, and investigate all leads and possibilities thoroughly and exhaustively as we work to ensure that the individual responsible will face the full consequences of his actions.
"The families are always in the forefront of our minds, and I hope that these arrests today bring us a step closer to providing them with the justice they are rightly entitled to.
"Although we are hopeful that today's arrests could play an important part in our investigation, it is essential that anyone who has any further information about the man responsible for this horrific crime comes forwards, as the more information we have, the closer we are to removing this criminal from the streets and ensuring he is no longer a danger to others in the community."
It is thought Mr Ajose, a community worker and father of three, was shot as he attempted to defuse trouble between the gunman and aspiring pilot Cheriff Tall when an argument broke out at the rave.
Three shotgun cartridges were recovered at the scene.