A man who was watching TV with his family on Christmas Eve has said he is "shocked" by a fatal shooting which took place nearby.
Phil, who did not give his surname, lives near to the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village where a shooting took place. A woman was killed during the incident and three men were also hospitalised for gunshot wounds. Others were also injured in the attack.
Officers were called at 11.50pm on Saturday night to reports of gunshots at the Lighthouse. The woman was taken to hospital with an injury consistent with a gunshot wound but was sadly pronounced dead after arriving. Her next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers.
READ MORE: Woman killed in Wallasey pub shooting on Christmas Eve
Phil was at home watching television with his family when they suddenly heard "loud bangs."
Speaking to the ECHO, he said: "We were watching TV last night just having a normal Christmas Eve really and heard some loud bangs, obviously it was gun fire and quite shocking. My wife thought it was fireworks but it did seem to be quite an unusual sound and it didn't appear to be fireworks.
"We just kept an eye out the window and after a minute or two we started seeing people moving this way. Not people running away or anything but congregating towards this end and after that it just continued, there were more and more people coming this way.
"After about four or five minutes we started hearing sirens, so we knew at that point it was something bad. It was just a lot of police activity, lots of things going on in this vicinity here outside the pub."
After hearing the news this morning that a woman was killed following the shooting, Phil said he and his family are shocked. He added the area is "lovely" and there has been no other problems prior to this incident.
He added: "We woke up this morning and we are holding Christmas Day here and we were just really, really shocked. It's really resonated now, especially knowing a young girl has died and three others injured, I believe what is being reported at the moment.
"It's just really, really shocking. It is a lovely village. It's a quiet area and we have only been here 12 months. We frequent the Lighthouse often along with another local pub around the corner and there has never been any trouble or problems.
"We're just really shocked and that's all we can say. It's just not what you want on your doorstep and we moved here because it is such a lovely area." Officers are combing through CCTV for leads. It is believed the gunman fled in a dark-coloured Mercedes.
Detective Superintendent Dave McCaughrean said: “This investigation is in the very early stages and we understand that this is a truly shocking and devastating incident that has happened just before Christmas Day in a busy venue full of young people. We have a number of officers at Wallasey Village who are carrying out extensive enquiries to understand exactly what has taken place and take immediate action.
“A woman has tragically lost her life at Christmas whilst several people are being treated in hospital and our thoughts and condolences are with the victim’s family. I would ask anyone who was in the Lighthouse in Wallasey Village last night who witnessed the incident or has mobile or CCTV footage of what happened to contact us as a matter of urgency as they may have information which is vital to our investigation.
"We believe that the gunman left the pub car park in a dark coloured vehicle – possibly a dark coloured Mercedes shortly after the shooting and we are keen to hear from anyone who saw this to contact us immediately.”
Anyone with information is asked to DM @MerPolCC or @CrimestoppersUK anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting log 1044 of Saturday 24 December.
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