Club shooting victim speaks

A Shropshire father today told of the terrifying moment he realised he had been shot by a gunman who opened fire on a packed nightclub dance floor.

Daniel Maxwell, 24, from Stirchley, Telford, was celebrating his friend's birthday in Shrewsbury's Buttermarket club when the shooting happened.

The gunman, who has not been caught, fired two shots in the club at about 2am on Saturday before fleeing. A second person was also threatened by a man with a gun in a nearby takeaway shortly after. Police are linking the two incidents.

Detective Chief Inspector Sheila Thornes, who is leading the inquiry, today urged revellers to contact police.

"A large number of people were at the club, many of whom left quickly when they heard the shots. We need to speak to anyone who was there," she said.

Speaking for the first time after leaving hospital where he underwent surgery to remove the bullet from his arm, Mr Maxwell said the shooting was "unbelievable" but revealed he did not realise he had been shot until other clubbers starting screaming at him.

Mr Maxwell, who has a four-year-old son, said: "I was just stood there dancing with my friend with my bottle in my hand and I heard two loud bangs.

"Next thing everyone was running. I just followed everyone into the toilets and these girls started screaming at me. A lad turned around and said 'I think you've been shot'.

"My bottle had smashed but I thought somebody else's had hit mine. I didn't realise I'd been shot."

Mr Maxwell, a labourer, said he still did not believe he was the victim of the shooting until doctors told him there was a bullet inside his arm following x-rays at the hospital.

"There was blood running from my arm - no-one actually realised at first. When I saw all the blood on my wrist, I turned it over and saw what looked like a snapped bone.

"I was thinking I'd broken my arm. I couldn't see an entry hole, then they x-rayed it and said I'd been shot. It's unbelievable," Mr Maxwell said.

"I'd never been to the Buttermarket before but it was my best friend's birthday and he was dj-ing there."

He said he believed he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and was not an intended target. And he criticised security at the club for not being tight enough.

His mother Shirley Maxwell, also of Stirchley, said: "It was a real shock. I didn't know what to think. It's a dangerous world out there."

Mr Maxwell's sister, Natasha, 27, added: "Daniel phoned me on Saturday morning and said he'd been shot. I thought he was joking because you just don't hear of it happening.

"He said his clothes had been taken by forensics but he seemed in good spirits.

"He said everyone was rushing and trying to get out of the place and that's when the girls started screaming because he had blood on his face, but he said he didn't feel anything.

"He thinks the gunshot probably came from the balcony. I can't understand how they got a gun in."

Buttermarket owner Kerry Wycherley was unavailable for comment today. Howard Street and Beacalls Lane, which were closed for much of the weekend, were today open.

Detectives are now investigating the record of the Pandemonium club night, which attracts a large number of revellers from the West Midlands, to see if it has a history of trouble.

Anyone with information about the shooting can call police on 08457 444888 or the confidential Crimestoppers number, 0800 555111.