Merseyside Police has launched a murder investigation after a nine-year-old girl was fatally shot in the chest in her home.
Officers were called to a house in the Knotty Ash area of Liverpool at around 10pm on Monday, following reports that an unknown man had fired a gun inside the property.
The girl, identified by police today as Olivia Pratt-Korbel, was taken to hospital in a critical condition and later died. Her mother, Cheryl, was shot in the arm in the incident.
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Police said a 35-year-old man also suffered gunshot wounds to his body, after forcing his way into the house while being chased by the gunman. Olivia and her family “had no connection” with the gunman or the injured man, officers added.
Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims called it a “truly shocking incident” and an “abhorrent crime”.
The Liverpool Echo reported that officers were patrolling the surrounding area, on foot and in cars, and “shining lights” into neighbouring houses last night.
Officers were carrying out door-to-door enquiries and scouring CCTV images, while sniffer dogs and forensic vans have also been spotted at the scene.
The shooting came 15 years to the day after the murder of 11-year-old Rhys Jones, who was shot dead in Croxteth Park on his way home from football training, and is the latest in “a series of high-profile cases in which child victims have been caught up in gun and knife violence across the city”, said RTE.
The Guardian confirmed there have been a number of killings involving guns and knives on Merseyside over the last week, “none of them linked”.
On Sunday, 28-year-old Ashley Dale, an environmental health officer at Knowsley council, was shot dead in what is believed to have been a case of mistaken identity.
It followed the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Sam Rimmer last Tuesday and comes less than a month after a 15-year-old boy was jailed for the murder of 12-year-old Ava White last Christmas.
Responding to the latest shooting, the mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson, said: “Has nothing been learned? Enough is enough.”
