A 26-year-old woman who was tragically killed by a gunshot to the head in a Christmas Eve pub shooting was out celebrating with family and friends and was "not targeted", police have said.
The attack took place in the car park of the Lighthouse Inn near Liverpool, with officers being alerted to gunshots around 11.50pm on Christmas eve.
Police scrambled to the scene and the young woman, who had been there with her sister and friends, was rushed to hospital, but sadly later died.
Four other men were injured, with one of them, a 28-year-old, fighting for his life in hospital, Detective Superintendent Sue Coombs said.
The other three men, aged 22, 24, and 33, were all also injured but their injuries were not life-threatening, police said in their latest press conference today.
Det Supt Coombs told the press conference: “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 is 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.
"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.”
The gunman was said to have fired shots at the front of the pub in Wallasey Village, from a dark coloured car - believed to have been an A-Class Mercedes - before being driven off by a male driver.
The innocent 26-year-old had simply been out celebrating Christmas like countless Brits up and down the country when she was shot and killed, police said.
DS Coombs said: “Tragically the victim, a 26-year-old woman had suffered a serious gunshot injury to her head.
“She was taken to Arrowe Park hospital but sadly passed away shortly afterwards.
“Her family have been informed and on today, which should be a day with friends celebrating, they are coming to terms with this tragic loss.
“It’s very early stages of the investigation but we do not believe that the victim in this case has been targeted.
“She was out enjoying Christmas with her sister and friends at what should have been a peaceful time.
“What her family are now going through is incomprehensible.”
A neighbour who heard gunshots said she assumed they were celebratory Christmas fireworks.
Jenny Hough, 77, said: “I heard the shots … I thought it was a firework actually, because it was nearly midnight.
“I just thought it was people celebrating midnight on Christmas Day.”
On waking to the news of a fatality and multiple injuries, Ms Hough said: “I couldn’t believe it. When I looked outside I thought ‘Oh crikey’. It’s a complete shock.
“My sister’s garden had been broken into. We suspect it was people trying to get out of the pub and trying to climb over the wall and into her garden to get out.”
Ms Hough said she had heard the pub had been “so crowded” that evening.
She described tight security in the area on Christmas Day morning.
She said: “I’ve got people here opening their presents at the moment and they’ve all had to give their names and addresses and everything to the police before they could come in.”
In a statement released on Facebook, the Lighthouse Inn said: "Last night there was a tragedy beyond words in our pub’s car park.
"All our thoughts are with the friends and family of our customers and in particular our hearts go out to the family of our customer who has lost her life.
"We are completely shocked by this and are also truly sorry that we can no longer go ahead with our Christmas Day bookings today.
"We are contacting everyone who had a booking with us to give a full refund. It is sadly too short notice for us to make any alternative arrangements for today but as well as the refund we will also offer a replacement Christmas meal in the New Year free of charge to everyone who was expecting to be with us today.
"We have provided the police with CCTV footage and our priority is supporting everyone who has been impacted.
"Take care everyone and please look after each other,
"The team at The Lighthouse".
Wallasey MP Dame Angela Eagle said the incident was “heartbreaking” and appealed for anyone with information to contact police.
She tweeted: “This is heartbreaking news – My thoughts are with the family of the woman who has died & those who are injured. Anyone with any information please tell the police.”
Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said the response from people present at the shooting was "overwhelming" as they came forward with information.
She also labelled the shooting "callous".
Throughout today, police have scoured the scene, with forensic officers investigating the scene of the crime.
News of the fatal shooting just before midnight on Christmas Eve came as a shock to people in the area, a local minister said.
Jeffrey Hughes, minister of the United Reformed Church in Wallasey Village, said the nearby pub is central to the community.
He said: “Wallasey Village is a fairly lively area, it’s a nice part of Wallasey, its a nice part of the north end of the Wirral.
“We’ve got a lot of young people, families in that area. The Lighthouse is central in that community.
“It’s a shock. When we first heard the news this morning that there’d been a shooting in Wallasey, Wallasey Village is the last place you would think of.”
Mr Hughes said trying to find words of hope in “such a terrible situation” is challenging.
He added: “In some ways the Christmas message is for a time such as this. Jesus was the prince of peace and this just shows us that even though we celebrate Christmas, we’re still very far from those ideals as a society.
“How we can speak words of hope into such a terrible situation is going to be difficult.”
He said the Christmas morning service would now not be “as much a celebration as it was going to be”.
He added: “I guess no words that you can say are going to change what’s happened, or indeed take away the pain and loss of what’s happened.
“I think it’s simply about being there, about trying to speak words of comfort at this time, just trying to get alongside people to say they’re not alone in this situation.”
