The week that shook Blackburn: Aya Hachem's drive-by killing

Emergency services rushed to the scene and took the victim, who we now know to be 19-year-old law student Aya Hachem, to hospital.

However despite the best efforts of doctors and nurses, the Lebanese national was pronounced dead shortly after.

A murder investigation was launched and a full-scale man hunt was initiated by detectives to track down those responsible for the crime.

It soon became apparent that Aya, who had been returning home from buying groceries, had not been the intended target of the attack when she was struck by a bullet fired from inside a passing car.

As the week has gone by, a total of 14 people were arrested for questioning in connection with the event.

As of Saturday evening, five people had been charged with murder and attempted murder and had appeared in court. 

The murder charge relates to Aya Hachem and the attempted murder charge to the man police believe was the intended target, Pashar Khan. Two shots were fired in the incident. The first hit a building and the second sadly hit and killed Aya.

Here’s everything we know so far, as it happened.

Sunday May 17

Just after 3pm, the emergency services were called to reports of a woman being found unresponsive on King Street after gunshots had been heard in the area.

The woman, Miss Hachem, was rushed to hospital but was sadly pronounced dead a short time later.

Her family were informed as the whole area was cordoned off by officers who were now in the process of launching a murder inquiry.

As the hours ticked by, officers began appealing for information about a metallic green Toyota Avensis, which had been seen leaving the scene shortly after the incident and was found shortly later.

DCI Jonathan Holmes, of the Force Major Investigation Team, said on Sunday evening: "This is a truly shocking and senseless killing, which has robbed a young woman of her life.

"Although the victim has yet to be formally identified, we believe she was a young woman from the local area. Her family have now been informed of her death and they are understandably utterly, utterly distraught. Our thoughts are very much with them, and her wider family and friends, at this awful time.”

Visibility patrols were launched in the area to provide reassurance to residents and anyone with information or concerns was urged to come forward.

A murder investigation and man hunt for the killers was launched on Sunday evening as more details of the event slowly began to unfold.

Monday May 18

An abundance of details began to emerge on Monday morning as detectives worked desperately to find those responsible for the killing of Ms Hachem.

By the afternoon it became clear that the student was an innocent passer-by who had been hit by a bullet as she walked past Lidl supermarket after leaving her family home for groceries.

Hundreds of people, including her mother and father, paid tribute to Miss Hachem as news of her death spread around the country – and the world.

The teenager, who had been in her second year of a law degree at Salford University was described as a devoted daughter and friend who would do anything for anyone.

She was heavily involved in charity work and was a young trustee for a children’s charity.

GoFundMe pages raising tens of thousands of pounds were set up in her honour as news of her death shocked thousands.

Later that evening, Detectives investigating the 19-year-old's death made the first of 14 arrests.  

The men, aged 39, 33 and 36, from Blackburn were detained on suspicion of murder.

The officer leading the investigation, Det Ch Supt Andy Cribbin from Lancashire’s Force Major Investigation Team (FMIT) said: “We are on with a number of lines of enquiry which includes looking at CCTV in the area and we have spoken to a number of key witnesses.

“There is no evidence to suggest Aya was the intended target of this attack and every indication is that she was an innocent passer-by, making this all the more tragic.

“We are determined to find who did this to Aya, particularly for her family, who are understandably devastated at their loss. Our thoughts remain with them.”

Tuesday May 19

The results of a post-mortem examination confirmed that Miss Hachem died as a result of a single gunshot wound to her chest.

Police continued to appeal for information, including about a green Toyota Avensis.

Senior Investigating Officer, Det Supt Andy Cribbin from Lancashire Constabulary’s Force Major Investigation Team (FMIT) said: “Our determination to find who was responsible for the death of Aya continues and we have a large team of detectives working on the inquiry.”

Detectives also urged members of the public not to share content on social media as a video of the incident started to circulate on social media.

The three men arrested on Monday remained in police custody.

Wednesday May 20

By Wednesday evening, a total of 11 people were in custody having been arrested in connection with the investigation.

News of the first arrests came early in the morning, when three people were arrested.

Two of the men, aged 31 and 35 were arrested on suspicion of murder, and a man aged 29 was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

At the time, Senior Investigating Officer, Det Supt Andy Cribbin from Lancashire Constabulary’s Force Major Investigation Team (FMIT) said: "While we have now arrested a number of people as part of this investigation our enquiries are very much on-going and we continue to have a large team of officers and staff working around the clock to find out who was responsible for Aya’s death.

"Our determination to get justice for her family remains undimmed.”

Later that day, officers released further information about three more people who had been arrested.

Two women, aged 19 and 26 from Blackburn, were arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

A man aged 28 from Blackburn was arrested later at an address in the town on suspicion of murder.

The latest arrests brought the total number detained in connection with Aya’s death to nine.

However before the day was out another two had been tracked down by police and brought in for questioning.

A woman, 29, and a man, 39, both from Blackburn, were detained in the town on Wednesday afternoon on suspicion of murder.

Police were also given more time to question the three men who were arrested on suspicion of her murder on Monday.

Thursday, May 21.

The first news that broke on Thursday morning was about detectives being given an extension to probe three people who were already in custody.

Two of them were the men aged 31 and 35 who were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of murder and the third was the 29-year-old man arrested on the same day on suspicion of assisting an offender.

However before long a further two people were arrested and brought into custody bringing the total number of people under investigation for Aya Hachem’s murder to 13.

The men, aged 34 and 24, from Blackburn and were detained on suspicion of murder.

By now seven men and a woman were under arrest on suspicion of murder while a further three – a man and two women – were being detained on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Friday, May 22.

On Friday evening, detectives investigating Miss Hachem’s death charged five people.

Uthman Satia, 28, of Oxford Close, Blackburn; Judy Chapman, 26, of St Hubert’s Road, Great Harwood and Kashif Manzoor, 24, of Shakeshaft Street, Blackburn were all been charged with both murder and attempted murder.

Feroz Suleman, 39, of Shear Brow, Blackburn and Abubakir Satia, 31, of Oxford Close, Blackburn were also charged with murder and attempted murder.

Feroz Suleman

The murder charge relates to Aya Hachem and the attempted murder charge to the man police believe was the intended target.

Two other men, aged 33 and 36 from Blackburn, who were arrested on Monday on suspicion of murder and attempted murder were released on bail pending further enquiries.

A 35-year-old man, from Blackburn, arrested on suspicion of murder on Tuesday, was also released under investigation.

A 29-year-old man, from Blackburn, who was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of assisting an offender was also released under investigation.

Also released under investigation are a 19-year-old woman from Blackburn who was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of assisting an offender and a 29-year-old woman from Blackburn arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.

A man, aged 39, from Blackburn arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of murder and attempted murder and a man, aged 34 from Blackburn, arrested on Thursday on suspicion of murder and attempted murder remained in custody.

A 22-year-old man from Blackburn arrested earlier Friday on suspicion of murder and attempted murder was released without charge.

Saturday, May 23.

Four men and a woman appeared in court on Saturday morning charged with the law student’s murder.

Feroz Suleman, Kashif Manzoor, Uthman Satia, Abubakir Satia, 31 and Judy Chapman all appeared in court in separate hearings on Saturday.

The five were also charged with the attempted murder of their intended target, Pashar Khan.

In a series of short hearings at Preston Magistrates' Court, sitting at Sessions House Crown Court, the five were remanded in custody to appear at Preston Crown Court on Wednesday.

All of the defendants wore grey tracksuits, apart from Suleman, who wore a Gucci jumper and jeans.

The court was told that the allegations were so serious they could only be heard at the crown court and no applications for bail could be made.

A closure order was issued for Suleman's business, RI Tyres, for up to three months, following an application by Lancashire Police.

Suleman is the boss of RI Tyres firm in Blackburn which has three branches including one in King Street.

It was also revealed that detectives had been given extra time to question a man arrested on Thursday.

He was the twelfth person to be arrested out of a total of 14 and is being held on suspicion of the murder of Aya and the attempted murder of Pashar Khan who police believe was the intended target of the shooting.

Officers were granted an additional 36 hours to hold the man in custody for questioning.

Another man, aged 39 from Blackburn, arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of murder and attempted murder was released under investigation on Saturday.

Detectives are focusing on what happened leading up to and following the shooting and are asking anyone with dash cam footage travelling on the A666 between Blackburn and Bolton, in both directions, during the times of 2pm and 4pm on Sunday, May 17th, to get in touch.

The officer leading the investigation, Det Supt Andy Cribbin, from Lancashire’s Force Major Investigation Team (FMIT) said: “As part of our investigation we are looking at what happened before and after Aya was shot.

“To understand this fully, we need anyone who was driving along the A666, particularly between Ewood in Blackburn and Bolton and vice versa around those times mentioned, to send us any dash cam footage they may have. I appreciate this is quite a long period of time but knowing who was moving along that road at those times is key to us.”

Anybody with any other information is asked to call 101, quoting log number 0412 of May 18th, or anonymously via independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.

The investigation continues.