A man has been charged after shots were fired at three locations in Liverpool on Wednesday night, the Crown Prosecution Service has said.
Leslie Garrett, 49, has been charged with one count of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, two of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and one count of attempted robbery.
He also faces one charge of possession of ammunition without a certificate.
The first report of shots was received from a shop in Norris Green, with further incidents taking place outside a cinema in Croxteth and at a nearby property. There were no reported injuries.
Police were called to the News and Booze store, known locally as Sangha newsagents, on Lower House Lane, after reports that a man had entered the shop at about 8pm, threatened the store assistant and demanded cash before firing a gun and leaving the store empty-handed.
Just before 8.50pm, police received a further report that shots had been fired outside the Showcase Cinema on Stonedale retail park. A man armed with a gun was reported to have threatened two members of staff in the foyer and fired a number of shots in the air outside before escaping in a car.
Further reports were received that gunshots were heard at a property on Malpas Road at about 10.20pm.
Garrett was arrested by armed response officers in Fazakerley after a stun gun was deployed and he has been in custody since.
Jenn Wilson, assistant chief constable, said: “The shocking and distressing impact these incidents will have had on the shop assistant, the staff at the Showcase Cinema and those filmgoers who found themselves in a lockdown situation in the complex after shots were fired outside the cinema, and the residents of Malpas Road, cannot be underestimated.”
She continued: “High-visibility patrols will remain in the area to reassure members of the local community.”
Garrett will appear at Liverpool magistrates court on Saturday.
