A Glock self-loading handgun found dumped alongside a stash of bullets in a cemetery has been used in shootings on the street, police have found.
Hundreds of gravesites were sealed off after the gun was spotted by a member of the public in West Derby Cemetery, Lower House Lane, at around 1.15pm on October 18. The discovery led to an extensive search of the cemetery site.
Initially, there was speculation and hope that the weapon may be linked to one of the three fatal shootings in August this year, particularly as it matched the description of one of two weapons fired by the killer of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in Dovecot on August 22.
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However, ballistics experts concluded it was not the same gun, and also established there was no link to the murders of Sam Rimmer in Dingle on August 16, or Ashley Dale in Old Swan on August 21.
The weapon was analysed by the National Ballistic Intelligence Service (NABIS), which collates intelligence on firearms and can discover whether a gun has been used in more than one shooting even if it has not been recovered. Firearms used in multiple incidents are then classed as 'linked series' weapons.
Merseyside Police has confirmed the West Derby Cemetery gun is considered a linked series firearm, meaning it has been used in criminal shootings on the streets. However, a spokesman for the force said it could not comment further on the incidents involved due to "ongoing enquiries".
Detective Inspector John Mullen, from Merseyside's Firearms Investigations Team, said: “Every weapon we seize makes our communities safer, and this gun was stored with ammunition, which could have been used to cause serious harm. We will now conduct forensic work to establish who has had it in their possession.
"If you have any information on this or other weapons, do the right thing and come forward immediately, as what you know could remove dangerous people and their weapons from the streets of Merseyside."
Anyone with information on the storage or use of firearms is asked to contact the force on Twitter @MerPolCC or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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