An off-duty nurse described how she battled to save the life of Elle Edwards as she lay dying outside a pub after being shot in the head.
Elle, 26, was smoking and chatting outside the Lighthouse pub on Wallasey Village shortly before midnight on Christmas Eve last year when she was gunned down by a man who had loitered outside for around three hours.
Connor Chapman, 23, is on trial at Liverpool Crown Court accused of her murder but denies being the man captured on CCTV spraying the front of the pub with 12 bullets from a military style Skorpion sub-machine gun.
READ MORE: Live court updates as Connor Chapman stands trial for Elle Edwards' murder
Nigel Power, KC, prosecuting, has told the jury Elle was the "wholly innocent" victim of a violent feud between rival gangs based on the Woodchurch estate and the Beechwood/Ford estate, on opposite sides of the M53 motorway in Wirral.
The prosecution allege that Chapman, from Houghton Road in Woodchurch, was attempting to kill Kieron Salkeld and Jake Duffy, both from the Beechwood area. Salkeld and Duffy were also shot in the incident and suffered serious injuries, but eventually recovered. Three other men, innocent bystanders Harry Loughran, Liam Carr and Nicholas Speed were also wounded.
On Thursday the jury heard a statement from Rachael Kelly, a nurse who was out with her friend Sam Carr at the Lighthouse when the shooting occurred.
Ms Kelly said her "nurse instincts kicked in" and she rushed to help the victims after hearing gunshots, and initially came to the aid of Salkeld, who she knew as 'Scouse', who was lying on the ground "groaning in pain". Katy Appleton, junior counsel for the prosecution, read Ms Kelly's statement to the jury.
She said she assessed his wounds and saw a bullet hole on the left side of his hip and the left side of his back. However as she was assisting Salkeld, she noticed a pair of white trainers and realised a woman was lying on the ground nearby.
Ms Kelly went over to assess the woman, who she later discovered was called Elle Edwards.
In her statement Ms Kelly said: “I looked at Elle and I remember being shocked at the amount of blood that was on her, I couldn’t tell what her hair colour was because of the amount of blood.”
Ms Kelly realised Elle was not breathing and began chest compressions, telling police “I am not sure how long I was doing CPR”. She described becoming tired but was unable to stop as the people in the immediate vicinity had no medical training.
After a short period someone who was able to help stepped in and Ms Kelly was able to take a break. She said: "I was guiding everyone with medical assistance as no-one else appeared to be medically trained."
Police officers and ambulance crews began arriving on scene shortly after midnight, and took over providing care for Elle. Ms Kelly said: "The first few days after the incident I was still in major shock. Even though I am a nurse this is nothing you can ever prepare for. I have since been signed off work on compassionate grounds."
Chapman denies murder, two counts of attempted murder, three counts of wounding with intent and possessing a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life. He has pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods in connection with the Mercedes used by the gunman.
An alleged associate, 20-year-old Thomas Waring of Private Drive, Barnston, is also on trial accused of possessing a prohibited weapon and assisting an offender in relation to the murder of Elle Edwards.
The trial continues.
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