A nine-year-old schoolgirl who died after being shot in her own home has been named by police as Olivia Pratt-Korbel.
The youngster was shot in the chest at around 10pm on Monday and was taken to hospital in a critical condition where she died a short time later. A man also suffered gunshot wounds to his body and a woman was shot in the hand during the incident in the house, on Kingsheath Avenue, Knotty Ash, in Liverpool.
The two other victims were taken to hospital for treatment, according to detectives. The force is now carrying out house-to-house, CCTV and forensic enquiries, while a cordon is in place.
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Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Merseyside police confirmed Olivia was the nine-year-old victim of the shooting, which has been described as an "appalling act of evil", reports the Liverpool Echo.
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."
Appealing for the public to come forward with information, Chief constable Serena Kennedy added: "On arrival, our officers could see just how poorly Olivia was and they rushed her to Alder Hey Children's Hospital, where, despite the best efforts of medical staff, she sadly died. Her mum was taken to hospital by colleagues from the North West Ambulance Service.
"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.
Det Chief Supt Mark Kameen, head of investigations, said the gunman, who was wearing a black balaclava with a peak and black gloves, forced his way into the building as Olivia's mother Cheryl tried to close the door.
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