On Monday evening, nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel was shot and killed when a gunman forced his way into her home in Knotty Ash, Liverpool.
She is not believed to have been the intended target, with the attacker chasing a 35-year-old man to the house and firing with “complete disregard” for its inhabitants.
Despite being rushed to a children’s hospital by police, Olivia died of her injuries in what officers have branded a “shocking and appalling” crime.
Here, the PA news agency sets out the timeline of events leading up to Olivia’s death:
– At about 10pm, a gunman in dark clothes and balaclava fires at two men walking in Kingsheath Avenue
– Olivia’s mother, Cheryl, opens her front door after hearing the shots. One of the men, 35, runs to her and pushes his way inside to escape
– He is chased by the gunman, who puts his hand through the doorway as Cheryl attempts to ram it shut
– The gunman fires into the house. A bullet passes through Cheryl’s wrist and hits Olivia, who is standing directly behind her, in the chest
– He fires twice more at the man before fleeing on foot through the front door
– The man, who has been repeatedly shot in his upper body, is collected by friends in a black Audi. They take him to hospital as the mother and daughter lie wounded
– Police officers arrive at the house and rush Olivia to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, where she dies
– Cheryl is taken by paramedics to Aintree Hospital and treated for her gunshot wound
