Man shot stranger to show he was ‘hard’

A KILLER who shot dead an Indian student wanted to make a name for himself as a hard man, a court has heard.

Kiaran Stapleton, 21, also allegedly joked and celebrated after shooting dead random stranger Anuj Bidve in the early hours of Boxing Day, last year, in Ordsall, Salford.

Stapleton walked over, asked the time, then shot Mr Bidve dead with a gun at close range.

He has admitted he pulled the trigger and entered a guilty plea to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Brian Cummings QC, prosecuting, said Stapleton wanted the jury to believe he simply “lost control” at times but in fact he was “calculating”.