Merseyside Police has launched a murder investigation after a gunman shot a 26-year-old woman dead and injured a number of others in a pub car park on Christmas Eve.
Officers received reports of gunshots at the Lighthouse Inn in Wallasey Village, a coastal village beside Liverpool, England, a few minutes before midnight on Saturday.
The 26-year-old woman, who was shot in the head, didn’t survive.
The police said her next of kin had been informed and officers are supporting the family.
Merseyside Police has launched a murder investigation.
Little details have emerged so far, Detective Superintendent Dave McCaughrean said officers believe the lone gunman escaped after the shooting.
“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,” Detective Superintendent Dave McCaughrean said.
McCaughrean described the incident as “truly shocking and devastating.”
“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,” he said.
McCaughrean said the murder investigation is “in the very early stages.” He said a number of officers are “carrying out extensive enquiries to understand what had happened and appealed to witnesses who have mobile or CCTV footage to step forward ”as a matter of urgency.”
In a later statement, Detective Superintendent Sue Coombs said the female victim was “out enjoying Christmas with her sister and friends” at the time.
She added that the police do not believe she was been targeted.
They urged anyone with information to contact the police.
The Lighthouse Inn said it has provided CCTV footage to the police.
“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,” the statement reads.
The statement also said the pub is contacting customers who have Christmas Day bookings to offer refunds and free replacement meals in the New Year.
“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 statement reads.
A neighbour who heard the gunshots said she had assumed they were celebratory Christmas fireworks.
Jenny Hough, 77, told the PA news agency: “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, 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.”
Hough said she had heard the pub had been “so crowded” that evening.
Jeffrey Hughes, minister of the United Reformed Church in Wallasey Village, said news of the fatal shooting will have come as a shock to people in the area.
“Wallasey Village is a fairly lively area, it’s a nice part of Wallasey, it’s a nice part of the north end of the Wirral,” he told the PA news agency.
“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.”
He said trying to find words of hope in “such a terrible situation” is challenging and acknowledged that the Christmas morning service would now not be “as much a celebration as it was going to be.”
He said such violence “shows us that even though we celebrate Christmas, we’re still very far from those ideals [of peace] as a society.”
