Two men remain on bail as police continue to probe a spate of shootings.
People living in Merseyside have been horrified after three shootings in one month. The most recent incident happened on Sunday, July 10, at around 7.15pm when a man was shot multiple times in the legs as he walked down a street in Croxteth.
The 23-year-old man was in Cubert Road when an unknown offender is reported to have fired shots in his direction, hitting him multiple times in the legs. It is thought the offender may have been on a pedal cycle which made towards Croxteth Hall Lane.
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The man remains in hospital where he is being treated for his injuries, which are not believed to be life threatening. Police said enquiries continue into this incident.
The second incident happened on Saturday, July 2 where a gunman opened fire on a 23-year-old man in a pedestrianised area between Croxdale Road West and Croxdale Road, West Derby. Mobile phone footage captured by a bystander appeared to show a man standing over the victim with a handgun before seven loud bangs are heard in quick succession.
The victim survived but sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his legs and back. He is now in a serious but stable condition in hospital. Police said the gunman fled the scene in a white Seat Leon car.
Residents rushed out to help the stricken victim, with further mobile phone footage showing a woman and a man applying pressure to bullet wounds while others comforted him. The victim was taken to hospital in a car by local residents, who dropped him off at A&E before leaving the scene.
A 62-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, but has since been released without charge. In an update, a police spokesperson two men remain on conditional bail following the injury shooting.
A third shooting incident also happened this month. At around 10.30pm on Tuesday, June 21, police received a report shots had been fired in the Everton Brow area of Everton. It was further reported that an injured man had been sighted.
Shortly after this, at around 10.45pm it was further reported that a 16-year-old boy self-presented at the Royal Liverpool Hospital with gunshot wounds. It was reported that he was dropped off at hospital on an electric bike, which made off down Prescot Road.
The victim was said to have serious injuries. In a most recent update, police said they were looking to trace a red white and blue motocross bike, reported in the Everton Brow area at the time of the incident. Enquiries into this continue, police said.
Detective Chief Inspector Rachel Wilson, who heads our Firearm Investigation team, said: “The last few weeks have seen three serious incidents in which people have been shot and injured in North Liverpool, and we continue to thoroughly investigation each one. Two men remain on conditional bail following an injury shooting in Croxdale Road West earlier this month, and enquiries continue into similar offences in Everton Brow in Everton and Cubert Road in Croxteth."
Police also moved to reassure people living in the area, DCI Wilson added: "We understand the fear that gun crime brings into our communities, but also see daily the impact we can all make to reduce such incidents. Information passed on by the public, either directly or anonymously via Crimestoppers, makes a massive difference in identifying suspects, seizing weapons and removing those people who would bring lethal weapons onto our streets.
“Although people’s perceptions are understandably focussed on what is happening now where they live, work and visit, it is encouraging to see that the number of shootings in Merseyside remains at its lowest for 21 years. This has been decreasing year-on-year since 2019, from a high of 125 in 2012, to 43 in 2021 (down 66%). We want to keep relentlessly building on this success and ensure that guns being fired on Merseyside become rarer still in the future.
“We work daily alongside our partners and within those communities affected, carrying out high-visibility patrols to gather information and reassure the public of the work ongoing, and use all our available powers to focus our resources in the right areas, including the use of Dispersal Zones, Public Space Protection Orders, Criminal Behaviour Orders and, when necessary and proportionate, our stop and search powers, which can and do result in positive results.
“There are many different ways we can identify and remove firearms and those offenders who use them from the streets of Merseyside. In May, we received 92 weapons and more than 800 live rounds of ammunition during the nationwide firearms surrender Op. Aztec. Even those weapons seized that are imitations and modified have the potential to cause fear, harm and intimidation to those who are targeted in shootings and other violent crime.
“We also work alongside the National Crime Agency (NCA) in the Merseyside Organised Crime Partnership (OCP), a joint enterprise which has been running for just over a year and exists to protect the public from organised crime groups and the misery they spread, both through violence and drug supply. The partnership has seen firearms and drugs seized, arrests and successful prosecutions to dismantle organised crime groups.”
Anyone with information about who is using or storing weapons in their area is asked to DM @MerPolCC, call 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Always call 999 if a crime is in progress. If you have information on any of the following incidents, come forward in the above ways with the relevant reference number:
Injury shooting in Everton Brow on Tuesday June 21: reference 22000433807: Appeal for information following injury shooting in Everton | Merseyside Police
Injury shooting in Croxdale Road West, West Derby on Saturday July 2: reference 22000467138: Two men arrested following injury shooting on Croxdale Road West, West Derby | Merseyside Police
Injury shooting in Cubert Road, Croxteth on Sunday July 10: reference 22000491070: Investigation underway after man shot in Croxteth | Merseyside Police
More information on the OCP can be found here: Specialist drugs and firearms team launched in new law enforcement partnership | Merseyside Police
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