Cheriff Tall

Abayomi Ajose and Cheriff Tall were shot at a party in Moss side.

They had been at a gathering at an enclosed car park between Caythorpe Street and Broadfield Road on 21 June 2020.

Several people were arrested, and a man was arrested on suspicion of murder, but no charges were made. It was said that one suspect's name came up in the enquiry very quickly, however, the police were unable to find him and it was thought that he had fled the country.

The police said, 'We have a good understanding of what occurred that night and we do have an outstanding suspect, but we need more evidence'.

There had been between 300-400 people at the party which was being held during the coronavirus lockdown at which time gatherings were banned. The party had included a DJ and PA system. The party had followed a Black Lives Matter event earlier in the day.

Abayomi Ajose and Cheriff Tall were both shot in the head at about 12.55am. They were said to have bene shot by a lone gunman who was thought to have been from the Birmingham area. It was said that shortly before the shooting that there had been a verbal argument. The police said that they thought that the gunman had come up from Birmingham with a group of 20 other people.

After the first shot was fired, a man called out, 'Party's over' whilst another shouted, 'Gunchester'. It wasn't until a few moments later when people began to realise that the situation was serious that the second shot was fired.

They were not known to each other.

The police said that they encountered a wall of silence in their investigation. They said that many of the people they identified as having been at the party refused to speak to the them, whilst one man even ran off when they went to his house.

In January 2024 the police released images of five people that had attended the party who they were looking to trace to see if they recalled seeing anything, noting that they were not being considered suspects, just people that they had not been able to identify.

Abayomi Ajose was known as Junior or Abi.

Cheriff Tall was also known as Cherry.

The investigation into their murders was known as Operation Tarnbrook.