Detectives have said they are looking for people on electric bikes after a schoolgirl was shot at a bus stop.
The girl condition has now been described as "serious but stable" following the shooting at around 5.10pm yesterday (Tuesday, March 1).
Today, Merseyside Police held a press briefing to update on the investigation and to urge witnesses to come forward.
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Here is everything that was said at the press briefing:
Detective Chief Superintendent Mark said: "First of all, I want to talk about some context, not that an incident such as this needs context.
"But, I don't believe, and Diane doesn't believe, the force and our communities does not believe, that we should ever be in a position where we have to knock on a door of a family to tell them that their child has been shot.
"And I can tell you now that we are doing everything possible and everything that is legitimately available to us to bring to justice those people who have been responsible for this attack.
"It is an absolute miracle and a credit to the NHS that this young woman has survived and I would urge anybody, and I will go into an appeal later in this briefing, to come forward with any information that they have that can lead to the identification of those people responsible for this callous and cowardly attack.
"I now want to talk about the attack itself and some of the details that I can release to you at this early stage of the investigation.
"We were called at about 5.10pm yesterday evening to a person having been shot at a bus stop as a result of a number of individuals and up to four bikes - we believe these could have been electric bikes.
"At this moment in time, we believe that shots were fired from one or more people on those bikes.
"All of the people on the bike were wearing dark clothing, they were wearing face masks or some form of face covering, like a balaclava.
"Once the shooting had taken place, we believe that the bikes made off towards the North Hill Street and Princes Road area of the city, which is very close to where the attack took place.
"When the ambulance crew arrived, following calls from members of the public, they found a young girl who had suffered a gunshot wound to her upper body and some devastating injuries as you can imagine.
"That young girl was taken to hospital for treatment and when she was initially admitted, her condition was described as critical, but thankfully and once again to the excellent work of the NHS, for her and her family, her condition is now described as serious, but stable.
"We currently have specially trained family liaison officers working and supporting the family at this incredibly difficult time and we will continue to provide that support to the family and this young girl as we progress throughout the investigation.
"A short time later after the initial report came in, we received a further report of another shooting where a 21-year-old man turned up at hospital with a gunshot injury to his arm.
"One of our lines of inquiry at this time, whilst keeping an open mind, is that these two incidents are connected.
"It is still, and I have to reassure everyone, very early days in this investigation, however, we are working incredibly hard late into the night last night and into the early hours this morning to ensure that this investigation has the absolute traction that it definitely requires.
"Crime scene investigators have been on scene, specialist forensic officers are also there supporting them to ensure that we recover all the necessary evidence available to us.
"We are conducting house-to-house inquiries and, as you can imagine, extensive CCTV footage.
"The actions of those people responsible for this attack on a 15-year-old schoolgirl who was waiting in a bus stop to go home from school are utterly appalling, and shocking, even with 29 years service.
"It shows a total disregard and contempt that they have for the decent, honest, law-abiding people who live, work and visit this city.
"At the time this incident happened, many people would have been travelling home from work ort travelling into the city centre.
"The area this happened is close to a junction of Princes Road, which is a major route to and from the city.
"That affords us as an investigation team, when we work with our communities, fantastic evidence gathering opportunities.
"At the moment there is extensive roadworks in that immediate area and so there will have been a standstill of traffic on this occasion at this time.
"So part of my appeal is to motorists and people in the general area at that time, or maybe you were on a bus, and you may have seen something, I need you to come forward and work with us, I need you to support the investigation, it is critical that we work together at this time.
"You may have some dashcam footage that could be vital to this investigation, remember, males, dark clothing, electric bikes.
"I would also like to appeal to anyone who has been in the area of Upper Warwick Street, North Hill Street, Lodge Lane, Princes Road between 4.30pm and 5.30pm yesterday evening who saw anyone acting suspiciously and matches those descriptions that I have given a little earlier on and indeed, anyone that they saw using electric bikes at that time.
"I talked a little earlier about the traction that this investigation has already had, and I can report that a 21-year-old man from Toxteth has already been arrested last night on suspicion of attempted murder and possession of a firearm.
"I can also tell you that a 60-year-old man from Toxteth has also been arrested on assisting an offender. However, I do not want anything to think listening to this report, that because people have been arrested at this time, that they don't need to engage with us.
"Your information is vital and critical to the success of this investigation, please do not think that an early arrest means you do not need to give that information to us - your support is critical.
"We have had an overwhelming response from the public in this early stages of the investigation, and I would urge anyone who has any information at all to come forward and make contact with us as soon as possible.
"We have set up a dedicated reporting system for anyone who has information and that includes a facility which you can provide video or dashcam style footage and that will go straight through to the investigation team. And we will provide a link to that at the end of this report.
"Alternatively you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
"And I can promise that all the information that you provide will be confidentially treated and we will act upon it."
Superintendent Diane Pownall said: "We understand how shocking last night's incident must have been, not only for the communities of Toxteth but for the wider Merseyside area.
"Thankfully these types of incidents are extremely rare but even one, is one too many and we know the devastating impact that gun crime can have at first hand.
"I have already been in contact with the local MP, local ward councillors for the area and I have also been in touch with the headteacher at the girl's school to offer my reassurances that we are doing everything that we can to find the person or people responsible and we are offering our full support to the girl and her family.
"A specialist schools police officer will also be working with the school's safeguarding team to support her friends and her year group.
"I want people to feel reassured that the investigation is making good progress, we have already made two arrests, as has just been outlined.
"I know that the community are, quite rightly, outraged and want to assist us in our investigations as we know the people who are responsible for this incident, clearly have no regard for the welfare of others and do not deserve to be walking the same streets.
"We know also that there would have been pedestrians and cars around that Upper Warwick Street area at around 5pm last night who may have seen something or captured something significant on their dashcam or mobile phone, so again I want to reiterate those appeals we have just made and urge people to come forward and tell us what they know so we can take positive action.
"They can either use the Merseyside Police special major incident police portal, again as just described, and that is accessible at www.mipp.police.uk or of course report anonymously through Crimestoppers.
"I would also encourage people to engage with trusted members of the community such as local community groups, youth groups and faith leaders to pass on any information the community may hold.
"For the next few days the people of Toxteth can expect to see an increase in the number of visible patrols out on the streets and also the mobile police station will be deployed into the area. I would urge people not to be concerned but to approach my officers and to speak to them. My officers will also be attending a number of community events planned in the Toxteth area in the coming days and again I would like to encourage people to please speak with them. Thank you."
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