A senior officer has pledged a crackdown on organised crime after the 'cowardly' murder of a young woman gunned down in a pub on Christmas Eve. Elle Edwards, 26, was shot in the head at the Lighthouse Inn pub in Wallasey Village, Merseyside, as she enjoyed an evening out with her sister and some friends.
Police have arrested two people in connection with her death. A 30-year-old man from Tranmere was held on suspicion of murder and attempted murder; and a 19-year-old woman from Rock Ferry was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.
Ms Edwards has been described as a 'special daughter' and someone who brought 'laughs and happiness' into people’s lives. One man remains in a critical condition in hospital following the shooting.
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Speaking outside the scene of the incident this afternoon, Merseyside Police Deputy Chief Constable Ian Critchley told reporters: "To be murdered in the most horrific and brutal way by the most cowardly of actions is quite incomprehensible for us all and our thoughts and deepest sympathy are with Elle’s family, who will now suffer this loss for the rest of their lives.
"We’re working closely with them at this most difficult and distressing time for them and I cannot comprehend what they are going through at this moment in time. Our staff at Merseyside Police are working relentlessly to find out who is responsible for this appalling act.
"We will not rest until we bring the offenders to justice, and by that I mean the person who pulled the trigger of the gun in the most indiscriminate way in this public house on Christmas Eve, anybody who was responsible for arranging, facilitating or harbouring this individual and anybody who continues to withhold information on who has done this or indeed where the weapon is that has led to this tragic fatality."
Dept Ch Con Critchley said the force would 'target' organised crime. He said: "We will not rest. We will be tireless in our approach to find justice for Elle and her family.
"We will also continue to target anybody involved in organised criminality in the Wirral area. This is a fantastic community in Wallasey, the public quite understandably are appalled. We understand people are scared as a result of what has happened but have been so supportive to my staff, been helping us, we’ve had some tremendous intelligence and community support to help us with our investigation.
"The small few cowards who seek to prey on the vulnerability of others for their own greed, we don’t tolerate that. Over the last few years we’ve seen the lowest number of discharges in Merseyside but one discharge is one too many, and clearly this is not the first time in Merseyside we’ve seen fatalities, particularly those caught up who were in the right place at the right time, the offenders were not. They were doing the wrong things that can’t be tolerated in our society."
Asked if he could directly link the shooting to a feud between gangs in Wirral, Dept Ch Con Critchley added: "We have seen over a number of months some level of escalation here. There has been real relentless activity in relation to the arrest of a number of people who are now behind bars or remanded in custody, significant seizures of drugs and weapons."
In a message to the families of those involved in organised crime, he said: "You have blood on your hands too if you’re a bystander or if you want to live off the profits being gained."
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