Merseyside Police has named the nine-year-old girl killed in a shooting in Knotty Ash, Liverpool, last night at a press conference this afternoon.
Officers attended a house on Kindsheath Avenue at 10pm following reports that an unknown male had fired a gun inside the property, the force said. The nine-year-old girl suffered a gunshot injury to the chest and was taken in critical condition to hospital where she later died.
A man also suffered gunshot wounds to his body and the girl's mum suffered a gunshot injury to her hand during the incident that took place inside the house, the force added. They have both been taken to hospital for treatment for their injuries.
The force held a press conference this afternoon releasing further details of the tragic incident. Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy named the victim as Olivia Pratt-Korbel and said the “family are absolutely devastated, inconsolable and heartbroken”.
According to the force, a man who was being chased by the gunman forced his way into the property 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 either man.
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Third victim of gun crime in Liverpool in the past week
Chief Constable Kennedy said: “I know that the murder of Olivia has rocked our communities, who are quite rightly upset and outraged that such an abhorrent crime has occurred here on the streets of Merseyside.
“The people of Liverpool and Merseyside are known for their compassion and pulling together in times of crisis, and I know that our communities, people are wanting to help the family in any way possible. This is not the time for anyone who knows who’s responsible for this shooting to remain tight-lipped.
“It is time for our communities to come together with us and make Merseyside a place where the use of guns on our streets is totally unacceptable, and those who use them are held to account.”
She continued: "Our thoughts and condolences are with Olivia’s family, who have been torn apart.
“No mum, no dad, no sister, or brother should ever have to experience loss in this way. Poignantly, Olivia was killed on the 15th anniversary of the murder of Rhys Jones – his murder should have been a watershed moment in the battle against gun crime and the use of guns on our streets.
“But shockingly there are still callous criminals who are prepared to use weapons on our streets and have utter disregard for the heartache and the pain that they have caused to Olivia’s family.
“Olivia’s family are the third family who’ve lost a loved one in the past week through gun crime, following the tragic murders of Sam Rimmer and Ashley Dale.
“Our thoughts very much remain with their families and the investigations continue into their murders.”
Further speaking about the incident, Ms Kennedy said: "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.”
Two men forced their way into Olivia's home despite mum's efforts to stop them
Detective Chief Superintendant Mark Kameen provided more details about what happened in the lead-up to the fatal shooting. He 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." He said one of the men, aged 35, saw the door opening, ran towards it and forced his way inside, despite Olivia's mum attempting to stop him. The person with the gun followed the man to the property and also tried to force his way inside.
Detective Chief Superintendant Kameen said: "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.”
Mr Kameen said the force is urging anyone with information regarding a black Audi that was used to take a man to hospital to come forward. It is believed by Merseyside Police that the car took the injured 35-year-old man to hospital last night - it has since been seized.
He added: “My appeal is to the person responsible for this horrendous attack on a nine-year-old schoolgirl to recognise the pain and anguish that this has caused to her family. I want that individual to hand themselves in.
“I also want the second man that was in the street that was with the 35-year-old to hand himself into us or make himself known to us.”
'We will not rest until those who are responsible are put behind bars'
Chief Constable Serena Kennedy added: “I also want to take the opportunity to appeal to members of the criminal fraternity and ask them to examine their consciences as they will have vital information that can help us.
“The killing of a nine-year-old child is an absolute tragedy and crosses every single boundary, and I would urge them to do the right thing so we can put this person behind bars.”
She continued: "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.”
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