Liverpool shooting: Nine-year-old victim shot dead in her own home named by police

A schoolgirl who died after being shot in her own home in Liverpool has been named as Olivia Pratt-Korbel.

The nine-year-old was shot in the chest after a guman chased another man into her house in Dovecot and ‘fired indiscriminately’.

Merseyside Police said Olivia’s family were ‘absolutely devastated, inconsolable and heartbroken’ following the incident in Kingsheath Avenue, on Monday night.

Her mother, Cheryl Korbel, who tried to close the door on the gunman, was shot in the wrist during the attack.

Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Kameen said: “We believe that at around 10pm last night, two men were walking along Kingsheath Avenue from the direction of Finch Lane, when they were approached by a person on foot.

“From what we know, this person shot at the two men in the street who then ran off.“At this time Olivia’s mum, Cheryl, opened the front door to see what was going on outside and one of the men ran over to the house and forced his way in.

“As Cheryl tried to close the door against him, the gunman had gained ground and force his arm, holding the gun through the door, and fired a shot which is believed to have struck Cheryl and then Olivia.

“The attacker continued to push themselves in to the property and fired two further shots at the man who had been chased. He then backed out of the address, ran back onto Kingsheath and fled.

“A dark Audi car arrived with minutes and picked up the injured man and took him to hospital for treatment, leaving Olivia and Cheryl injured in their home.

“Cheryl was taken to Aintree Hospital where she was treated for a gunshot wound to her arm and sadly Olivia was taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, where despite the best efforts of medical staff, she died soon after.

Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said: “This is a shocking and appalling attack which will reverberate around our communities, and I want to take this opportunity again to appeal to anybody who knows who was responsible for this attack to please come forward and give us those names.

“We need to find all who are responsible for this. Not just the gunman, we need to find who supplied the weapon and who arranged this terrible incident.

“Forensic experts are at the scene at this moment in time, conducting house-to-house enquiries and officers are reviewing CCTV footage to establish and identify who is responsible.”

Detective Chief Superintendent Kameen said the gunman was wearing a black balaclava with a peak and black gloves. He is described as about 5ft 7in, of slim build and wearing a black padded jacket.

How to contact police

Anyone with information is asked to DM @MerPolCC or call @CrimestoppersUK on 0800 555 111 quoting log 1083 of August 22.