Two men have been taken to hospital after a double shooting near Wigan.
Gunshots were fired at a property in Hawthorn Grove, Leigh at about 5.45pm on Wednesday evening before a second shooting shortly after in Shadwell Grove.
Greater Manchester police said a man in his twenties was taken to hospital with gunshot wounds. Another man, in his thirties, was then taken to hospital after the second incident.
While police believe the shootings may be linked, details of exactly what happened were yet to be confirmed.
Det Supt Jamie Daniels said: “We are in the very early stages of our investigation into these incidents but we believe they could be linked.
“We have officers in Leigh carrying out extensive inquiries to establish exactly what has happened.
“Two people are in hospital with gunshot wounds and I can assure people that we will leave no stone unturned as we work to find out who is responsible.
“We understand the community will be concerned and, as such, we have deployed extra patrols to reassure them.
“If you have information that could help us with our investigation, please come forward. Anything said can be done so in confidence or anonymously.”
Witnesses told the Manchester Evening News that a police helicopter was seen circling the area.
One resident said: “There were a lot of police cars and a helicopter flying around just after 6pm.
“My family and all the neighbours were very worried at seeing the number of police in the area.”