A gun was fired close to a nursery after a brawl between a group of men escalated.
A huge police cordon remained in place today on Delamore Street, Kirkdale, after gun shots were fired yesterday afternoon. Officers were called to the street at around 1.55pm on Tuesday, February 21 after reports a gun was fired.
Two men fled towards an alleyway to the side of Delamore Street while the others made off towards Cairo Street. No injuries were reported to Merseyside Police. The gun was discharged shortly before the street would have been full of children due to the end of the school day.
READ MORE: Live updates as 'huge cordon' in place after shooting
A cordon extended across large parts of Delamore Street this morning, including at the junctions where the road meets Cairo Street and Selwyn Street. Parents walking their children to local schools and nurseries were diverted around the cordon by police officers. Two young children stopped at the entrance to the cordon before being hurried along by their granddad.
Police tape was also pulled across Selwyn Nursery blocking one of the building's entrances. At around 9.30am, the happy cries of children in the nursery's outdoor play area rang out close to the scene.
Just minutes later the street became a wave of activity as two Matrix vans arrived at the scene. Several officers, dressed in all black uniform and baseball cap, began a fingertip search of Delamore Street, looking for any sign of bullet casings or other evidence.
The ECHO observed the officers meticulously combing through the front entrances to a number of terraced houses. An officer was also observed blocking an entrance to the street's alleyway where two of the men involved in the brawl were understood to have fled.
Residents of Delamore Street watched the police activity from inside their houses. If they wanted to enter the cordon they had to sign in with a police officer, while cars parked inside could not leave.
One local man, who did not want to be named, told the ECHO: "I had my headphones on and was working from home. I heard a couple of bangs outside but didn't think too much of it. When I looked back out through my curtains I saw the police putting tape around my car." Another eyewitness recalled hearing "three large bangs".
A spokesperson for Merseyside Police confirmed an investigation into the gun shots had been launched and officers were appealing for information. Investigating officers were undertaking house-to-house and CCTV enquiries in the local area while the cordon remained in place.
Merseyside Police Detective Inspector Peter McCullough said: "Any shots fired in a residential area have the potential to cause devastation to anyone inside or nearby. Such reckless and violent behaviour will not be tolerated on our streets. Our investigation is still the very early stages as we seek to establish what took place yesterday afternoon.
"We are carrying out a number of lines of enquiry and speaking to people living in the local area. At this stage nobody has come forward to report they were injured. I would ask anyone who was in the area of Delamore Street at around 2pm today who saw or heard anything suspicious or thinks they may have captured something significant on their dashcam or Ring doorbell to get in touch with us as a matter of urgency."
Anyone who has information is asked to DM @MerPolCC, call 101 or contact @CrimestoppersUK on 0800 555 111 quoting reference 23000151963.
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