Man 'miraculously' survived after being shot as gunman opened fire at family home, trial told

A man 'miraculously' survived after being shot when a gunman opened fire at a family home, a jury has been told. Three men are accused of attempted murder after a 20-year-old man was blasted in the chest at a house in Little Hulton, Salford.

Tyler Harrison, 20; James Gregory, 20; and Jacob Humphreys, 21, deny trying to murder Samuel Adesanya. "This case is about a shooting," prosecutor David Temkin KC told a jury during his opening speech at Manchester Crown Court.

"In the evening of May 26 this year, a black car pulled up outside a house in Little Hulton," he added. "The car contained a number of males. They were all dressed in black. They had their hoods up. Some of them carried weapons and one of them carried a gun.

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"The males walked through the garden and up the drive and they began smashing windows. It was a noisy and shocking scene. Inside that house there was a family, including four young children. Luckily, the young children were all upstairs.

"There were three adults in the house, two were members of the family. One was a visitor. The visitor's name was Samuel Adesanya, a 20-year-old man. Samuel Adesanya was shot in the chest. The gunman was in very close proximity to Samuel Adesanya when he pulled the trigger."

Mr Temkin said Mr Adesanya was standing inside the house near the front door, visible through a pane of glass. "All that separated Samuel Adesanya from the gunman was that pane of glass," the prosecutor added. "The gunman pulled the trigger at close range and aimed it directly at Samuel Adesanya's chest.

"The bullet pierced the glass and entered Samuel Adesanya's body in his upper right chest. The gunman and the other males then hastily made their way away from the scene."

Mr Temkin said Mr Adesanya was rushed to the Manchester Royal Infirmary, adding: "Miraculously, Samuel Adesanya survived. He has not assisted the police with their investigation, nor have the other people who were in the house."

Mr Adesanya spent a week undergoing treatment in hospital before he was discharged, juror were told. "There was no exit wound," the prosecutor said of the bullet that hit Mr Adesanya.

"That meant the bullet was still in him. It remained lodged in his chest. As far as we know, it's still there. Miraculously, he stabilised very quickly. The medics were then able to confirm that he was going to live."

Prosecutors allege a black Vauxhall Insignia was used by the offenders to arrive at the scene of the shooting. Jurors were told that about half an hour later, firefighters were called to a 'quiet residential street' in Little Hulton to reports of a car on fire.

The subsequent investigation showed that the car was a black Vauxhall Insignia, jurors heard. Prosecutors allege the blaze was started deliberately. The jury was told that the car was being driven on false number plates, and had been stolen from Hale about a month earlier.

Mr Gregory was allegedly seen on CCTV carrying the false number plates which were found on the Insignia. Mr Temkin said the prosecution alleged that the three defendants were recognised on CCTV footage collected by police.

A total of seven men - dressed in all black - were seen on such video footage, Mr Temkin said, three of whom he alleged were Mr Harrison, Mr Gregory and Mr Humphreys. "The prosecution say that the three of them were all involved in that shooting," he told the jury.

"The prosecution cannot say who held the gun or who pulled the trigger. But the prosecution do say these three men were involved, they knew what was going to happen. They intended that death would result."

Mr Harrison, of Knowlsey Avenue, Golborne, Wigan; Mr Gregory, of West Way, Little Hulton; and Mr Humphreys, of Chanters Avenue, Atherton, Wigan; all deny attempted murder, and an alternative charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The trial continues