Good evening, these are the latest ECHO headlines on Wednesday, May 4.
Teen hit by bus in town centre as air ambulance lands
A teenager has been taken to hospital after being hit by a bus, prompting a huge emergency service response.
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Cheshire Police rushed to Victoria Road in Widnes at around 4.40pm on Wednesday, May 4, following reports of a person being hit by a bus. Once at the scene officers found a teenage boy was hit by a single-decker Arriva bus on the road, near the junction of Moor Lane.
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service and the North West Ambulance Service scrambled to the scene and are "working to save" the teenager. An air ambulance from Blackpool has also landed at the scene.
The severity of the teenager's injuries is not known at this time. Victoria Road, which is in Widnes town centre, is closed in both directions and a cordon is in place while emergency services deal with the incident.
Man shot in broad daylight during targeted attack in park
A man was shot in the legs at a park during a targeted attack in broad daylight.
Merseyside Police rushed to Fazakerley Hall Recreation Ground in Fazakerley at around 9.55pm on Wednesday, May 4, following reports a man was shot in the legs. The force was called when a man in his 20s arrived at a hospital in a black Mercedes for treatment.
It was reported shots were fired just before 9.30am. The man remains in hospital in a stable condition.
Enquiries are ongoing to establish exactly where the offence has taken place. Detective Chief Inspector Rachel Wilson said: “We are in the very early stages of the investigation as we seek to establish where the incident took place and who was involved."
Merseyside Police 'institutionally racist' says crime commissioner Emily Spurrell
Merseyside Police were branded "institutionally racist" by local Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Emily Spurrell in an interview which appears to have caught the force by surprise.
Ms Spurrell, who was elected to the position in May 2021, said that while the "vast majority" of officers were "incredibly dedicated" and "not racist" - the institution had been "designed by a certain group of people" and "did not take into account" the experiences of black and ethnic minority people.
Merseyside Police's Chief Constable, Serena Kennedy, flatly denied the force was institutionally racist, while Merseyside Police Federation, representing rank and file officers, said Ms Spurrell's comments were "deeply disappointing".
However anti-racism activist Chantelle Lunt, herself a former Merseyside Police officer and now founder of Merseyside Black Lives Matter (BLM) Alliance and Operation Withdraw Consent, said the comments did not go far enough and absolved individual officers of responsibility for a " racist culture " in the force.
Ms Spurrell made the comments in a discussion with Policing TV reporter Danny Shaw, who asked: "Do you accept that Merseyside Police is institutionally racist?"
