THE gunman who shot Adam Hayes in Blackburn appears to be locked into a spiralling pattern of aggressive behaviour - a potential killer who could strike again.

And the parents of his victim have called for him to hand himself over to the police before he actually kills someone.

The Hayes family have been left deeply shocked by the incident.

Adam is a former Lancashire Evening Telegraph newspaper boy who now delivers the Citizen free newspapers.

His mother Anne said: "Adam is a quiet boy who always walks away from trouble. He has been left in a lot of pain and is shocked and terrified by what has happened to him.

"He is a young lad and will get over this but it will take him a long time to recover.

"He lost a lot of blood and one of his lungs has collapsed."

Detective Chief Inspector Mike Kellett said: "This person is obviously a very dangerous man and the next time he strikes we could be looking at a murder inquiry.

"There is a pattern of behaviour emerging and it appears that this man is getting more aggressive towards the people he approaches.

"We are treating this as attempted murder and this young man is very lucky to be alive."

DCI Kellett also stressed that the man they are hunting has picked out teenagers and seems to look for an argument.

He said: "We have had a number of incidents reported to us and I am reasonably happy that two of them are linked to the man we are looking for. "In one of the incidents the man produced what appeared to be a gun from his coat and threatened to shoot the teenagers. In one case indecent suggestions were made to one of the girls involved and threats have also been made in all three cases."

Police say the description of a white, middle aged man with thick glasses, grey hair and around 5ft 9in is similar in all three incidents.

The artist's impression is also being circulated to schools in the Blackburn and Darwen area.

The police are also investigating claims that a man phoned a Blackburn gunsmith on Saturday and told him he had found a bag and a shotgun in Witton Park on Saturday.

The police believe the call may have been a hoax but are not ruling it out of their investigation.

Anyone with information can contact the police incident room on 01254 353569 or the confidential Crimestoppers line on 0800 555111.

Adam's parents are pictured at the police press conference.

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