A nine-year-old girl who died after being shot in the chest has been named as Olivia Pratt-Korbel. Police confirmed the name of the youngster who died in hospital following the incident in Kingsheath Avenue, Liverpool on Monday night.
It has now been confirmed the youngster had no connection with the killer who forced his way into the family home. The little girl was standing behind her mum, Cheryl, when the shooting happened.
The first shot hit the mum in the hand but the assailant continued to fire his weapon. He fired two shots towards a 35-year-old man who had forced his way into the property, according to the Liverpool Echo.
Speaking at a press conference Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said. the gunman opened fire with "complete disregard", hitting the youngster. Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Kameen said the shooter continued to fire even after Cheryl and Olivia were wounded, hitting the man he was chasing several times.
Olivia died after being taken to Alder Hey Children's Hospital. Merseyside police officers are still at the scene of the tragedy which remains behind a cordon. Police say door-to-door enquiries, forensic and CCTV investigations are being carried out and they are urging anyone with information to get in touch.
Chief Constable Serena Kennedy and Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Kameen, Head of Investigations, were both speaking at a press conference this lunchtime.
The Chief Constable said: "At 10pm last night, our officers were called to Olivia's home on Kingsheath Avenue and when we arrived we found three people had been injured, including Olivia and her mum. It is believed that one of the injured parties, a 35-year-old man, was being chased by a man armed with a gun who was firing at him.
"The man being chased forced his way into Olivia's house and the offender ran in after him, firing a number of shots with complete disregard for Olivia and her family, who had no connection with the gunman or the man who forced his way in.
"Sadly, Olivia was fatally wounded when the gunman fired at the man who was trying to get into the house, and her mum also suffered a gunshot to her wrist. The 35-year-old man who had been chased suffered a number of gunshots to his upper body.
"Whilst Olivia lay dying, he was picked up by his friends who took him to hospital."
She continued: "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. Forensic experts are at the scene at this moment in time, conducting house-to-house enquiries and officers are reviewing CCTV footage to establish and identify who is responsible."
She added: "We will not rest until those who are responsible are put behind bars. I can guarantee that no stone will be left unturned.
"I recognise how incredibly frightening this is for our communities, as well as the other murders that we've seen this week at the hands of firearms. People will see a significant increase in the number of police on the streets of Merseyside over the next coming days."
She added: "As you would expect, we already do a large amount to tackle gun crime with our partners, which has reduced significantly over the past two years.
"This work with partners will continue and I am meeting with our partners this afternoon across the region to discuss how we continue this work.
"Our investigation will rely heavily on information from members of the public and I urge the local community who have any information that could help us to come forward so we can bring those responsible to justice."
Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Kameen said: "We now believe that around 10pm two men were walking along Kingsheath Avenue from the direction of Finch Lane. At that time they were approached by a lone person - potentially a male - who was wearing a black padded jacket, a black balaclava with a peak, dark pants and black gloves. This individual was approximately 5ft 7ins tall and of slim build, and they were carrying a handgun.
"From what we now know from the review of some CCTV that we have acquired so far, we know that this person shot at the two men who were walking down Kingsheath Avenue. Both men responded by running away from that person with a firearm.
"Responding to the sounds of those gunshots, Olivia's mum Cheryl appears to have opened the door to her property in order to see what was going on outside. One of the men, the man that the Chief Constable referred to as the 35-year-old man, appears to have seen the door opening and run towards the opening of that door.
"He has then forced his way into the property despite the very best efforts of Cheryl and has made his way inside. As that was taking place the person with the gun has followed the male to this property. That person has also tried to force entry to the property and has managed, it would appear, to put their hand through the open door as Cheryl continued to try and close it.
"A shot has been fired which we believe has hit Cheryl, injuring her and then fatally wounding Olivia. Olivia at that time, we believe, was stood directly behind Cheryl."
The Liverpool Echo has previously reported how officers were shining lights into houses overnight and patrolling the surrounding area, some by foot and others by car. Sniffer dogs and forensic vans were also spotted near the house where the shooting is said to have taken place, with residents visibly shaken.
Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said earlier: "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."
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