Ashley Dale murder documentary - part 4: A city rocked by murders

In August of 2022, the city of Liverpool was rocked by three fatal shootings in the space of one week.

On 16 August 2022, Sam Rimmer was gunned down on Lavrock Bank, Dingle, as he stood with a group of friends in a cul-de-sac. Although ten arrests have been made, so far, no one has been charged with his murder.

In the early hours of 21 August 2022, Ashley Dale was murdered in her home in Old Swan. The following day, nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel was shot dead by Thomas Cashman as he was chasing down his intended victim in Dovecot.

Merseyside Police described it as an 'intense period' for the force, who, so far, have managed to successfully put the killers of Ashley and Olivia behind bars. Merseyside Police has since been graded as outstanding for its approach to tackling serious organised crime.

In 2022 there were 49 firearm discharges in the region. Merseyside Police have been working to reduce this. January 2023 was the first calendar month when there were zero discharges since records began. This was then repeated for the months of June and September.

One firearm discharged on our streets is one too many, and sadly, too many lives have been lost here on Merseyside as a result of gun crime.

• Watch the video above for part four of our Ashley Dale murder documentary: A city rocked by murders
• Ashley Dale murder documentary - part 1: Tragic shooting in own home
• Ashley Dale murder documentary - part 2: Death foretold
• Ashley Dale murder documentary - part 3: All had a part to play