A brutal face slashing may be linked to the point blank shooting of a man who was attacked while sitting at a memorial to a murdered friend.
Detectives are carrying out intensive enquiries after a gunman opened fire on a 23-year-old man in a pedestrianised area between Croxdale Road West and Croxdale Road, West Derby, on Saturday afternoon (July 2). 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.
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The ECHO understands the incident may be linked to another act of extreme violence close by, which occurred at around 1.15am on June 14. Merseyside Police received reports a man had been stabbed in the face and leg outside shops on Finch Lane, before returning to an address on Altfinch Close via Colwell Road.
It is understood the victim had received a large slash wound to his face. Residents along Colwell Road and Altfinch Close at the time told the ECHO they awoke in the morning to find a "trail of blood" on the road and on parked cars.
One local woman in Colwell Road said: "The first I knew about it was this morning when I took my little girl to school. One of the women down the road had to wash her car because there was blood all over it, there’s even a trail of blood that goes all the way round onto Altfinch Close."
When asked about potential links between the incidents, a Merseyside Police spokeswoman said: "We can confirm we’re following multiple lines of enquiry but can’t give any further update at this stage."
Blood was spilled again just over two weeks later, when the gunman opened fire close to a memorial for Elliot Mulligan, who was stabbed to death in Albufeira, Portugal, in April this year. Mr Mulligan, 22, had lived close by but moved to Northern Ireland before he was killed.
Friends and family had laid flowers, cards and candles in the area between Croxdale Road West and Croxdale Road, while an artist had painted a large mural of Mr Mulligan on a wall. A local who knew both Mr Mulligan and the shooting victim said friends would gather there "most days".
After the gunshots rang out, at around 4.55pm on Saturday, 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.
Detective Inspector John Mullen from Merseyside Police's Firearms Investigation Team, said: “Our extensive enquiries continue into a shooting this weekend which left a man injured. While, fortunately, the victim is recovering from his injuries, this does not lessen the shock that the community will have experienced at a firearm being used on a residential street in broad daylight.
“Rest assured, we are pursuing multiple lines of enquiry to bring those responsible to justice and I would urge anyone with any information to come forward. Our officers will be out on patrol in the Croxdale Road West area in the coming days so if you saw anything on Saturday afternoon, however insignificant it may seem, please come and let us know.
“Through information provided by our communities and proactive policing operations and tactics, we have seen a decrease in firearms incidents over the past two years. We’re determined to keep preventing them from happening so that our communities can continue to live, work and enjoy going out free from the fear of incidents such as this.
“If you know anything, please tell us, either directly or anonymously, so we can take positive action and make Merseyside safer.”
Anyone with information or CCTV, dashcam or doorbell footage of the shooting incident is asked to direct message the force's social media desk on Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ with reference 22000467138. Anyone with information about the stabbing should use reference 22000410078
You can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or via their online form here.
Do you have any information on these incidents? Email Crime Reporter Jonathan Humphries at jonathan.humphries@reachplc.com or on Twitter at @jhumphriesecho
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