Tip-offs from the community have been flowing in after the murder of a young man in Dingle last week.
Sam Rimmer, known to some friends as "little-man Sam", was shot dead on Lavrock Bank at around 11.40pm on Tuesday, August 16. Mr Rimmer, from Bootle, was with a group of people in the street when shots were fired by four men riding two bikes, believed to have been electric bicycles.
No-one else was hit, but Sam was struck in the chest and collapsed. He was treated at the scene by paramedics and rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
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The shooting marked the first murder involving a firearm in Merseyside in more than a year, since the death of 26-year-old Patrick Boyle in Newway, Huyton, on July 1, 2021. Mr Boyle was shot twice in the chest by drug-dealer Rueben Murphy, who was last month jailed for life.
It is so far unclear whether the gunmen were targeting Mr Rimmer or another member of the group. Today Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Kameen, head of investigations at Merseyside Police, told the ECHO: "Enquiries are continuing around the Sam Rimmer investigation, again the major crimes unit is looking into this, and a huge amount of working is taking place around CCTV, around house-to-house enquiries thus far, which starts to build a better picture.
"We would suggest it was a targeted attack in the sense that the collective group or address was being targeted, as opposed to a random drive-past shooting, so to speak. The full details of that are not clear, we are still in the early stages of that investigation, but it is making progress."
DCS Kameen spoke after another terrible tragedy involving guns occurred early on Sunday, when 28-year-old Ashley Dale was shot by unknown thugs who burst into her home on Leinster Road, Old Swan, and opened fire "indiscriminately". However he said the force was fully committed to solving both cases even as public attention swung to the latest incident.
He said: "We have a dedicated team who are full time investigating his murder and we will not be stepping away from that. People still need to come forward with information relating to the tragic murder of Sam Rimmer as well."
The ECHO asked what response the force had received from the community after appeals for information were published last week.
DCS Kameen: "It's important to reiterate that the community have been fantastic in their support around the Sam Rimmer investigation. We put a major incident portal online for that one, we have had CCTV deposited, we have had people engaging with us and providing information and sightings, and I am incredibly grateful for that.
"I realise that the decision to engage with us is not always easy for people and it takes courage and I really respect and thank them for that."
Anyone with information is asked to DM @MerPolCC or @CrimestoppersUK, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting log 1259 of 16 August.
Anyone with CCTV, doorbell or dashboard camera footage which may assist the investigation is asked to share it directly with Merseyside Police using this online portal.
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