As the community of Deane, in Bolton, Greater Manchester, continues to take stock of the fatal shooting of a five-year-old boy in its midst, the mother and stepfather of Dillon Hull returned to their home under heavy police protection yesterday.
However, even as police officers stood guard outside the terraced house it emerged that some local residents have appealed to the family to leave the area. A group of the residents has organised a petition to urge the family to move away as it fears the man who shot Dillon could return.
It also became clear yesterday that the family had been warned it was risking Dillon's safety by allowing drugs to be sold at its former home in Lancashire.
The prophetic warning given to Dillon's mother, Ms Jane Hull, came last year after she was placed on probation for two years for allowing his stepfather, Mr John Bates, to sell heroin at the family home.
At that time the judge told Ms Hull he hoped she would raise her son "properly" and not allow him to have any contact with drugs.
Officers from Greater Manchester Police had refused to discuss Mr Bates's background other than to confirm he was known to them. However, it is understood Mr Bates did have a criminal record for drug-dealing and this fact may point police in the direction of his stepson's killer.
Earlier the Greater Manchester Police Authority offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Dillon's killer. Det Supt Peter Ellis, who is leading the inquiry into the shooting, said the decision to allow Ms Hull and Mr Bates to return to their home had been agreed following "lots of consultation".
Describing the events that led up to the shooting of Dillon and his stepfather, Mr Ellis said he believed the gunman had chosen to wait in an alley beside Bankfield Road before running into the street and shooting Mr Bates.
A post-mortem examination has revealed that Dillon was killed by a single shot to the head.