Tributes have been made to the woman who was shot dead at a Merseyside pub on Christmas Eve. Elle Edwards, 26, has been described as a "beautiful angel" who had a "pure heart" by friends.
Elle's family has not yet released a tribute to her, but provided photos of the girl who "made people happy inside" reports the Liverpool Echo. She was gunned down while on a night out with friends and family at the Lighthouse Pub in Wallasey Village, Wirral.
Police were called to the scene shortly before midnight, with one neighbour saying they had assumed the gunshots were celebratory fireworks for the festive season. Four men were hurt in the incident, with one in a critical condition and the other three not believed to have life-threatening injuries.
Police said they believe the gunman fired shots towards the front entrance of the pub and that minutes later a dark-coloured vehicle “possibly an A class Mercedes” was seen leaving the car park. It's believed Elle was not the target of the attack.
Friends and colleagues have now paid tribute to Elle, who had worked at a Wirral beauty salon. Friend Britt Hughes posted a tribute on Facebook, saying: "Christmas will never be the same again. Our gorgeous girl whose face made me so happy inside when she walked in the room, a girl who I couldn’t have been any more similar to. Shared so many amazing memories this summer with you and spoke to you non-stop, who am I gonna be in fits of laughter with on voice notes terrorising the world. You’ll be so missed my beautiful bestie."
Another close friend, Tyreece Hon said: "So last night this angel gained her wings and headed to the stars. You were always a big sister to me in my eyes and I can’t believe you’ve been taken from us so soon. My heart goes out to your family who took me in as a son, love you loads. Shine bright you crazy diamond."
Detective Superintendent Sue Coombs said: “No family should have to be faced with this ordeal at any time but at Christmas, which should be a time of peace and celebration, it makes it so much harder to bear. Our specially trained family liaison officers are supporting the family at this tragic time and we are determined to find those responsible. The investigation is still in the early stages and we are trying to establish a motive and the circumstances surrounding this callous and cold-blooded shooting.
“We believe the gunman fired shots at the front entrance to the pub. Minutes later a dark-coloured car, possibly an A-Class Mercedes, was seen to leave the pub car park. We are particularly keen to speak to the driver of that car and ask anyone who may have seen it to contact us immediately. We will not rest until we find the people responsible for this shooting and I would appeal to anyone who has information or believes they captured something significant on their dashcam, doorbell camera or mobile phone to contact us.
“Our investigation will rely heavily on information we receive from the public and I urge members of the local community, who have any information which could help us, to get in touch so we can bring those responsible for the horrific murder of a young woman at Christmas to justice.”
