Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram has accused some of trying to push an agenda that Liverpool is not a safe place in response to a recent spate of shootings.
The Metro Mayor criticised some media outlets from outside the city have the 'intention of doing Liverpool down' in their wider coverage of gun violence following the shocking murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbell.
Mayor Rotheram said: "Nothing will ever take away from what's happened in the past few days. Everyone's sympathy is rightly with the family of Olivia.
READ MORE: Man arrested on suspicion of murdering Olivia Pratt-Korbel
"The press outside of our area would like to make more of this being about the city. Each one of these individual incidents and the circumstances of them, would be enough to shock us. But beyond the individual cases, I think the press outside are keen to portray Liverpool as an unsafe place for people to come to because there is gun violence all the time. Last week we had the first fatal gun shooting in 12 months.
"All of those sort of things are playing into the hands of some people who have the intention of doing Liverpool down. I think we need to be careful about that.
"I think there are people who are trying to move the agenda on to asking if Liverpool is a safe place. We've got a long record of tackling violent crime, these incidents coming so close together will obviously raise safety concerns but this is not stereotypical of what goes on in Liverpool.
Mayor Rotheram added: "This weekend thousands of people again will flock into Liverpool and Merseyside and they will enjoy themselves in a safe and convivial atmosphere. I think its wrong for some news organisations trying to portray us as going back to the 1980s, that's just not true."
Today, Merseyside Police announced the arrest of a 36-year-old man on suspicion of the murder of nine-year-old Olivia, who was shot dead when a gunman burst into her home in Dovecot on Monday evening.
A spokesperson for Merseyside police said: "We have arrested a 36 year-old man on suspicion of the murder of nine year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel. The man, who is from the Huyton area, was also arrested on two counts of attempted murder.
"The arrest came after an operation involving armed officers in the Merseyside area last night, Thursday 25th August. The man is currently in custody where he is being questioned by detectives.
"An investigation remains ongoing and anyone with information is asked to DM @MerPolCC or contact @CrimestoppersUK on 0800 555 111. Information, footage or images can also be submitted via the Public Portal (mipp.police.uk)."
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