Liverpool shooting: Another Merseyside man shot dead after 'cold blooded' attack outside Wavertree chippy

A murder inquiry has been launched after a man was shot dead, and another injured, in a "cold blooded, targeted attack" outside a chip shop in Liverpool.

The shootings come after the launch of a Crimestoppers campaign to tackle the first rise in firearm incidents in the city in three years.

A witness said a 26-year-old was shot nine times during the killing outside Anna Jung's in Grosvenor Road, Wavertree, at about 7pm on Wednesday (1 February).

The victim, from Toxteth, was taken to Aintree Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short while later.

At about 7.40pm the same evening, a 19-year-old man believed to have been with the first victim admitted himself to hospital with a gunshot wound to his upper body.

Police say they have been unable to speak with him as he continues to receive treatment, but said his condition is not life-threatening.

The killer is believed to have last been seen running down Grosvenor Road towards Liverpool city centre. A witness, who asked to remain anonymous, said she tended to the deceased victim while waiting for paramedics to arrive.

"He had about nine shots in him and I held my hands with pressure over the wound while another girl pumped his chest," she told the Liverpool Echo.

The area remains cordoned off while forensic examinations and house-to-house inquiries are carried out.

This is the fourth person to be shot dead in Merseyside since April 2016, with 44-year-old father Thomas Baker killed outside a gym in the Old Swan area of Liverpool just last week.

Crimestoppers said Merseyside had recently experienced a spike in gun crime after seeing a year-on-year decrease in firearm incidents between April 2013 and April 2016. The last nine months have seen 77 incidents involving firearms in the area, with 28 non-fatal injuries. This compares with 60 firearm incidents in the whole of the previous year.

Last week, a dramatic convoy of police cars with flashing blue lights passed through Liverpool in a show of strength to armed criminals. A Crimestoppers van with digital screening and broadcasting "emotive imagery" is also set to pass through hot spot areas across Merseyside on Thursday, in further efforts to reduce gun crime.

Grief for the rest of their lives

Assistant Chief Constable Nikki Holland, of Merseyside Police, said of Wednesday's shooting: "The investigation is in its early stages and extensive inquiries are being carried out to establish the motive and to identify those responsible.

"This was a cold blooded, targeted attack on a residential street which has taken away the life of a young man. The people responsible for this attack knew exactly what they were doing and they need to be caught.

"A young man, who should have had his life before him has been killed and his devastated family are now faced with coming to terms with their loss. His parents and family will now have to live with their grief for the rest of their lives.

"There is no place in our city for firearms, or those who use them and bring fear to our communities and on our streets. We need members of the public to come forward with information so we can keep our streets safe.

"I would urge anyone who saw anything, or who has any information, which could help us with our enquiries to contact us urgently. You may not think that the information you have is significant but it could help us with our enquiries. We believe that that the offender was last seen running off down Grosvenor Road towards Liverpool city centre."

Anyone who has any information which could help detectives with their inquiries is asked to contact detectives on 0800 230 0600, or the Crimestoppers hotline anonymously on 0800 555 111.