These are the latest ECHO headlines this morning.
Taking 'very dangerous' child gang boss off streets helps 'build trust'
Senior detectives say the removal of a "very dangerous" child gang boss from the streets of south Liverpool will help build trust with communities.
Harry O'Brien was just 16 when he was arrested for a series of violent and terrifying incidents linked to a drug-dealing 'graft line' in Dingle. O'Brien controlled a crew of dealers selling cannabis, but his "lucrative" trade was exposed after a "feud" led to three shootings in three weeks in South Liverpool.
One attack saw bullets fired from an Audi at a BMW, as the two cars raced side-by-side through the city at night. A stray bullet flew through the front door of an "entirely innocent" family's home and landed on their hallway stairs.
READ MORE: The boy who thought he could rule South Liverpool by terror
A gunman on an electric bike peppered a family's living room with bullets and fired into another victim's bedroom. Finally, O'Brien had petrol poured through the letterbox of a mum's home and set ablaze, as she and her children ran for their lives.
This week Detective Chief Inspector Mark Kameen, head of investigations at Merseyside Police, told the ECHO the sentencing of the baby-faced thug represented a major boost in the campaign to reduce gun crime. DCI Kameen was speaking ahead of the launch of a two-week firearms surrender, which enables anyone with an illegal or unlicensed gun or ammunition to hand it in safely without fear of prosecution.
Read the full story here.
Everything we know about Huyton murder investigation after mum found dead
A 'beautiful' mum was found dead in her home by police and paramedics, launching a murder investigation.
Merseyside Police and the North West Ambulance Service were called to Radway Road, Huyton, close to the junction with Lyme Cross Road at around 8.30am on Wednesday, May 11, following reports of a woman's body being found. Officers and paramedics attended but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
A 21-year-old man, who detectives say is known to the victim, was arrested a short time later on suspicion of murder. The ECHO was told he was arrested on York Road, a short distance away, where forensics officers were also investigating this morning.
READ MORE: 'Devastation' as 'bubbly and lovely' mum found dead in her home
Emergency services remained at both Radway Road and York Road on Wednesday making door-to-door enquiries and investigating a house and a flat. Here's everything we know so far about the Huyton murder investigation.
Police rushed to Radway Road just before 9am after a call from somebody saying a woman's body was found in a home. Once officers got to the scene they found a woman in her 40s, who was pronounced dead.
Read the full story here.
Son 'doesn't deserve family name' after murdering elderly dad
The family of a man who killed his own dad in an attack at their home said he ‘doesn’t deserve’ to bear their surname.
David Lavender, 37 was jailed for life with a minimum 14 year term after killing his father Anthony in December last year. Mr Lavender died days before his 80th birthday when his drunk son battered him with a glass kettle.
The assault caused a fatal heart attack and Mr Lavender went into cardiac arrest and died on the stairs of his home as his son fled the scene. Yesterday, Liverpool Crown Court heard statements from friends and family about the devastation caused by the killing of Mr Lavender.
READ MORE: Son murdered 79-year-old dad in unprovoked attack
Speaking on behalf of his siblings and the wider family, Jackie Long said they had been left shattered by 37-year-old Lavender's actions. She described to the court how the family had been preparing to celebrate Mr Lavender’s upcoming birthday but were instead left planning his funeral.
Ms Long said: “We spent what should have been his birthday kissing his cold forehead in hospital.” She said the nature of Mr Lavender’s death meant they were denied a normal grieving process, unable to have an open casket at his funeral and faced with the realisation that he was killed by his own son."
Read the full story here.
