By James Simons-
A nine-year-old girl has died after being shot in Liverpool.
A man reportedly fired a gun in a house on Kingsheath Avenue in Dovecot at 22:00 BST on Monday.
The gunman was chasing another man into her home when he fired “with complete disregard” for anyone else in the property.
Merseyside Police named the child as Olivia Pratt-Korbel and said her mother was also injured in the incident.
The force said her family were “absolutely devastated, inconsolable and heartbroken” following the incident in Kingsheath Avenue, Knotty Ash, last night.
A man also suffered gunshot wounds to his body and a woman suffered a gunshot injury to her hand during the incident. Both been taken to hospital for treatment for their injuries.
Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Kameen, head of investigations at Merseyside Police, said the gunman, who was wearing a black balaclava and black gloves, forced his way into the building as Olivia’s mother Cheryl tried to close the door.
The girl was found with a gunshot injury to the chest when officers attended the scene at around 10pm.
She had been shot in the chest and died in hospital. A man also suffered gunshot wounds to his body and a woman was shot in the hand. The killing came 15 years to the day after 11-year-old Rhys Jones was shot dead in nearby Croxteth.
Speaking at a press conference at the force’s headquarters this afternoon, Chief Constable Serena Kennedy appealed for anyone with information to come forward, adding “now is not the time to remain tight-lipped”.
She added: “At 10pm last night, our officers were called to Olivia’s home on Kingsheath Avenue and when we arrived we found three people had been injured, including Olivia and her mum.
“It is believed that one of the injured parties, a 35-year-old man, was being chased by a man armed with a gun who was firing at him.
“The man being chased forced his way into Olivia’s house and the offender ran in after him, firing a number of shots with complete disregard for Olivia and her family, who had no connection with the gunman or the man who forced his way in.
“Sadly, Olivia was fatally wounded when the gunman fired at the man who was trying to get into the house, and her mum also suffered a gunshot to her wrist.
“The 35-year-old man who had been chased suffered a number of gunshots to his upper body. Whilst Olivia lay dying, he was picked up by his friends who took him to hospital.”
Chief Constable Serena Kennedy speaking to the media
Chief Constable Kennedy said: “This is a shocking and appalling attack which will reverberate around our communities, and I want to take this opportunity again to appeal to anybody who knows who was responsible for this attack to please come forward and give us those names.
“We need to find all who are responsible for this. Not just the gunman, we need to find who supplied the weapon and who arranged this terrible incident.
“Forensic experts are at the scene at this moment in time, conducting house-to-house inquiries and officers are reviewing CCTV footage to establish and identify who is responsible.”
She added: “I know that the murder of Olivia has rocked our communities, who are quite rightly upset and outraged that such an abhorrent crime has occurred here on the streets of Merseyside.
“The people of Liverpool and Merseyside are known for their compassion and pulling together in times of crisis, and I know that our communities, people are wanting to help the family in any way possible.
“This is not the time for anyone who knows who’s responsible for this shooting to remain tight-lipped.
“It is time for our communities to come together with us and make Merseyside a place where the use of guns on our streets is totally unacceptable, and those who use them are held to account.”
Merseyside Police has put a cordon in place as officers hunt the gunman.
Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said the shooting was “truly shocking”.
“No parent should ever have to suffer the loss of a child in these dreadful circumstances,” she said.
“This crime is abhorrent and our communities must come forward and tell us who is responsible.
“This cowardly individual does not deserve to be walking the streets and I would urge those who know anything to speak to us and tell us what they know.”
Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said: “This is a truly shocking incident in which tragically a young and innocent girl has been shot and sadly died.
“Our thoughts and condolences go to her family and friends at this very difficult time.
“No parent should ever have to suffer the loss of a child in these dreadful circumstances.
“This crime is abhorrent and our communities must come forward and tell us who is responsible.
“This cowardly individual does not deserve to be walking the streets and I would urge those who know anything to speak to us and tell us what they know so that we can put the person responsible behind bars where they belong.
“We are carrying out a number of lines of enquiry as a matter of urgency and would ask for dashcam, CCTV or mobile phone footage from anyone who lives, works or was visiting the area of Kingsheath Avenue last night.”
Dashcam
Police are appealing for dashcam, CCTV and mobile phone footage from anyone in the area at the time
The girl’s next of kin has been informed.
Police said house-to-house and forensic inquiries would be carried out.
West Derby’s Labour MP Ian Byrne, whose constituency includes the street said residents were “all struggling to process it as a community”.
He said he would be asking his constituents to “help the police and give them as much information as possible”.
The girl’s death comes after a spate of killings involving guns and knives on Merseyside.
On that same fatal evening , a woman was found with a fatal stab wound in her chest in a pub car park in Kirkby, while on Sunday, 28-year-old council worker Ashley Dale died after being shot in the Old Swan area of Liverpool.
Police are also still searching for two people who fled on electric bikes after Sam Rimmer, who was in his early 20s, was shot in Toxteth on 16 August.
Monday was also the 15th anniversary of the murder of 11-year-old Rhys Jones, who was mistakenly shot by a gang member in Croxteth on his way home from football practice in 2007.
Labour’s Paula Barker, the MP for Liverpool Wavertree, said the girl’s death was “obviously devastating” and the “mindless violence simply has to stop”.
“I think, as a city, we come together in adversity and I know people in Liverpool will be absolutely horrified this morning,” she said.
Liverpool city councillor Harry Doyle, who represents the area, said what had happened was “absolutely abhorrent” and the community was “in utter disbelief”.
He added there was “absolutely no place for this sort of violence on our streets”.
A woman who lives nearby, who asked to remain anonymous, said the shooting made her worry for her own children.
“It’s devastating. It can’t carry on like this,” she said.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said in a tweet that his thoughts were “with the little girl’s family” as it was “devastating news, for them and their community”, while Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey tweeted that it was “a heartbreaking tragedy for Liverpool and the whole country”.
He added that he was sending his “thoughts and prayers to her family and friends, the other victims of this senseless shooting, and the whole community”..