Imran Khan who died after targeted shooting in West Bowling was soon to be a dad for first time

Imran Khan, whose wife was due to give birth next month, had been shopping for baby items on the day he died, said friends.

Detectives confirmed yesterday a murder investigation had started after Mr Khan, 30, was shot outside his home in Round Street, West Bowling, on Monday at about 8pm.

He was taken to hospital but died a short time later. Police said a post mortem examination took place yesterday which showed Mr Khan died of a gunshot wound.

Family and friends paid tribute to Mr Khan, who also went by the nickname Kalay.

Victim Imran Khan

His sister Jawaria broke down in tears as she said: “He was the greatest brother you could ever have. He was always there for his family and people used to look up to him.”

MORE TOP STORIES

Waleed Khan, 32, a friend of Mr Khan, said: “He was a nice man. He was a nice, humble, charitable, law-abiding guy and he used to give a lot to charity. He went shopping on the day his was shot for stuff for his newborn.”

He described Mr Khan’s family as “really nice and quiet”, and added: “It has struck the whole community in West Bowling. It is terrible.”

Another friend, who did not want to be named, said Mr Khan had been fasting for Ramadan.

He said he had seen Mr Khan and others his age grow up, and added: “He has a wife and is expecting a kid next month. I have been traumatised all night.

“To lose a life just like that, I could hear his mum screaming.”

The investigation taking place in Round Street, West Bowling

He added: “It will impact on the area and the whole of Bradford.”

Mr Khan lived with his wife, mum, dad, sister and two of his brothers. 

“He was a brilliant lad, a good lad, and humble with the kids,” said the friend. “He played football with the local kids.

“We have lost a really good person in the community. He was always humble and polite and happy and playful.”

Mr Khan was jailed for six years in September 2007 for his role in a kidnap gang. He admitted kidnapping a man, robbing him of £350 and possessing an imitation firearm with intent to rob.

But the friend said: “He has kept out of trouble since that. He worked full-time and had two jobs.

“He had a heart. He would always do something for the community.”

Councillor Taj Salam (Lab, Little Horton) said: “It is terrible news. A young man has lost his life and the community is in shock. I was only speaking to him on Friday evening. He was a delivery driver for a local takeaway business. A really nice and hardworking man who I understand was expecting his first child soon. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

“There has been a lot of work carried out in the area over the past few years to bring the community together and try to encourage young people to use their energy in positive ways such as the Park Side sports centre and the Bradford Trident community projects rather than turning to violence. I feel we had come a long way since 2009 - following a fatal stabbing - and we were making very good progress. This is almost like a step backwards.

“There is a calm at the moment because of the shock but my next step when the dust settles is to try and pull people together such as community leaders and service providers to analyse what has gone wrong in the last five or six years. People have to learn from this sort of tragic incident.”

Former Bradford East Liberal Democrat MP David Ward, now a ward councillor for Bolton and Undercliffe, said: “It is a really strong area with a strong community spirit,” he said. “This is a really sad incident but people will pull together and survive this. There has been a massive improvement in that area over the past few years with children’s centres, faith centres, the Trident projects plus work with police, youth services and schools.

“A lot of progress has been made and will continue to be made despite what people think from outside.”

Witnesses said the shooting victim was one of two men engaged in a “verbal confrontation” on St Stephen’s Road about an hour and a half before the incident.

One witness said: “They were shouting at each other, there was no fighting or anything.”

Streets off Gaythorne Road in West Bowling were cordoned off yesterday, with police officers standing guard on cordons across Round Street and St Stephen’s Road.

Police today released this picture of Imran Khan

One resident, who did not wish to be named, said said he heard three shots. He added: “It is terrifying. It is unbelievable.”

Another resident said her five-year-old daughter had been playing outside and came running in shouting: “Something scary has happened outside.”

She added: “I heard screaming. It is very scary. The children thought some fireworks had gone off. She saw someone on the ground. We tried to help the family. His mother was screaming.

“You don’t expect this on your doorstep. It is shocking.”

Another resident said her children were too scared to sleep after they saw police outside their house.

“It is difficult to believe what has happened,” she added.

Another man said Mr Khan was shot in the head outside the front of his house in Round Street.

He added: “All his family gathered around, and he was bleeding from his head.”

Yesterday morning, police were also guarding an area surrounding a burnt-out Ford Focus car, that was believed to be linked to the incident, at the back of the nearby Khidmat Centre, off Ryan Street.

Police are treating the incident as a targeted attack and Detective Chief Inspector Ian Scott, of the Homicide and Major Enquiries Team, said: “Our enquiries are continuing to establish the full circumstances of what happened and the events leading up to it.

“A man has sadly lost his life and I would urge anyone who saw any suspicious activity in the Round Street area at around 8pm last night to contact us, so we can fully investigate this incident.”

Anyone with information can contact police on 101, quoting log number 1636 of June 6, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. Two men, aged 22 and 21, were arrested on suspicion of murder and were in custody last night.

• UPDATE: This morning West Yorkshire Police said a third man had been arrested on suspicion of murder.

The man, aged 30, was arrested at an address in West Bowling last night.

At 6pm today, police said the 21 and 22-year-olds had now been bailed pending further enquiries.

The 30-year-old remains in custody.