A Manchester shopkeeper has been arrested by police on suspicion of attempted murder after a man allegedly trying to rob his shop was killed. The 72-year-old was arrested on Tuesday night after Greater Manchester police were called to his shop in Old Trafford at about 9.40pm. Officers were called to the shop after reports that a 30-year-old man had been stabbed. He was allegedly one of a number of would-be burglars. A spokesman for Greater Manchester police said: "A 30-year-old man with serious injuries was taken to hospital, but he died a short time later. "A 72-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder." The shopkeeper has been named locally as Cecil Coley. Local resident Manmohan Singh, 57, said Mr Coley - also known by the nickname "Pops" - had only recently changed the shop from a bric-a-brac store into a florist's. Chief Superintendent Mark Roberts added: "The investigation is in its early stages, and we are still trying to establish the circumstances of what has happened. "I would like to reassure residents that we do not believe there is any danger to the community, and would urge anyone who may have seen something to contact us." The incident follows a case last month in nearby Pendleton, Salford, when John Bennell, a 27-year-old burglar, was stabbed to death by homeowner Peter Flanagan. Flanagan was confronted by a group of masked men, one of whom had a machete. Last week, the Crown Prosecution Service said the 59-year-old would not face charges because he had used reasonable force and had acted in self defence. At the end of last month Justice Secretary Ken Clarke indicated that a householder who knifes a burglar may not necessarily have committed a criminal offence under plans to clarify the law on self defence in England.
Hopefully due to our changing law he will be let out soonish and the thieves will get the message that robbing people wont be a walk in the park any more because people clearly are not standing for it now. All of the UK is behind Cecil.
yeah or maybe burglars will know make sure the house owner is dead before proceeding to rob the house. this just makes it that much more dangerous for us. You're gonna have paranoid thieves carrying more dangerous weapons in case something like this happens.
Reminds me of the article that someone posted a while back about when a burglar comes into your house. Law needs to clarify these types of situations.
Not really, if a robber is going to do you harm they will do it regardless of whether people decided to do something about it or not, this just levels the playing field and prevents the victim from getting put in prison, But either way, being able to fight back beats hiding under the bed while your stuff gets taken. I think many thieves will actually think twice, it will no longer be worth the hassle. Over here, typically the most dangerous weapon is a big knife, in this case the robbers had a big machete, same with the family that was in this situation not long back. He was arrested so they can confirm it was robbers, after that he will be out. The law is on his side. I doubt we will ever be at a point where if you kill a robber in the process of defending yourself, you dont get arrested, i think you should be taken in for the police to make sure it was a robbery and not just a domestic. Remember, being arrested does not mean you are guilty of anything. '' '' But lets make one thing clear, we should not be trying to kill robbers, but if it happens for whatever reason, then you should be immune to the law if the police find that it was indeed a robbery or forced entry.
Reminds me of the case in Toronto where a robber was caught stealing in China town and the owner of the store was charged... If the man was just trying to defend his shop, I'd say he doesn't get charged.
