Armed police stepped up patrols in south London today after three teenagers were shot dead in less than a fortnight, fuelling public concern over gun crime and youth gangs.
A man in his mid-20s was shot dead in London on Saturday in what is believed to be the latest in a series of fatal shootings that has fuelled public concern over gun crime and youth gangs.
The latest victim was attacked by two men in Hackney, east London, a police spokesman said.
In Manchester, an 18-year-old was shot in the back late last night.
He was taken to hospital where his injuries were not said to be life threatening. Two more men, aged 19 and 27, were shot and wounded as they sat in a car at traffic lights in the Longsight area of the northern city, Greater Manchester Police said.
Extra armed police are on the streets of the capital after three teenagers were shot dead in south London in less than two weeks.
Scotland Yard said three people were arrested overnight during searches of suspicious vehicles, although none was linked to the shootings.
Two men were held on suspicion of driving a lost or stolen car and another was detained over suspected drug possession, a police spokesman said.
The fatal shootings of the three youths in south London have led to political soul-searching amid fears they reflect a general malaise in British society.
Prime Minister Tony Blair called the murders "horrific, shocking and ... tragic beyond belief".
But he rejected comments from opposition Conservative leader David Cameron who said they showed society was "quite broken".
"This tragedy is not a metaphor for the state of British society, still less for the state of British youth today, the huge majority of whom, including in this part of London, are responsible, law-abiding people," Mr Blair said.
The third victim in south London was Billy Cox (15) who was found dying by his 13-year-old sister after being shot on Wednesday at their home in Clapham, a mixed area of expensive townhouses and sprawling housing estates.
The murder followed the shooting of schoolboy Michael Dosunmu (15) in his bedroom in Peckham on February 6th.
Days earlier, James Smartt-Ford (16) was gunned down a few miles away at Streatham ice rink. Labour's Kate Hoey, MP for Vauxhall, said the violence was drug-related.
"It's still rife on many, many of our estates," she told BBC radio.
Home Secretary John Reid said the government would consider strengthening laws to target gun crime.