Gangland gun horrors that haunt a city in mourning: The death of little Olivia – the fourth Liverpool murder in a week – is part of a dark underbelly too often driven by a violent drugs trade, writes PAUL BRACCHI
- Olivia Pratt-Korbel was shot dead in her home in Liverpool on Monday night
- The kind-hearted, joyful and popular little girl was about to start Year 5 at school
- There were more than 30 incidents involving a weapon in Liverpool since June
Few cities, outside London perhaps, have a richer cultural past than Liverpool. Locals have every right to take pride in their city, which produced the Beatles and two of our greatest football clubs.
But there is also a darker side to Liverpool, linked to violence fuelled by the drugs trade and firearms.
Most shootings and stabbings do not make the headlines nationally. But sometimes they do. The murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, shot dead in her own home where she – where every child – should feel safe, is a horrific reminder of the dystopian world that exists in many parts of Britain.
Her death on Monday had a chilling synergy.
The murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, shot dead in her own home where she – where every child – should feel safe, is a horrific reminder of the dystopian world that exists in many parts of Britain
Police revealed Olivia Pratt-Korbel (left, with her mother, Cheryl, right) was the random victim of a gun battle that saw the shooter barge his way into her family home and open fire with ‘complete disregard’ for anyone inside
She was killed on the 15th anniversary of the murder of 11-year-old Rhys Jones, who was caught in the conflict between rival gangs while on his way home from football practice on August 22, 2007
She was killed on the 15th anniversary of the murder of 11-year-old Rhys Jones, who was caught in the conflict between rival gangs while on his way home from football practice on August 22, 2007. Rhys, like Olivia, was shot.
‘Has nothing been learned?’ asked one woman who lives near the scene of the latest atrocity. True, the 43 shootings recorded on Merseyside last year were the lowest number in 21 years.
But, as the old saying goes, there are lies, damned lies and statistics.
There have been more than 30 incidents involving a weapon – either a firearm, a knife, and in one case a crossbow – on Merseyside over the summer months of June, July and August.
Children leave flowers near to the scene in Kingsheath Avenue, Knotty Ash, Liverpool
Children are seen sitting in the road on Kingsheath Avenue in front of forensics officers today
Olivia’s death is the third fatal shooting in Liverpool in less than a week, and it comes 48 hours after a council worker was killed
A man was also shot in the body while a woman also suffered gunshot wounds to the hand. Both are in hospital being treated for their injuries. Pictured: Police this morning patrolling the scene
And, in the past week alone, the death toll has risen to four: three fatal shootings and a fatal stabbing – taking the total number of people killed on Merseyside this year to 14, the faces of some we show here.
Even though the number of actual shootings on Merseyside are falling, according to the latest figures, the number of firearms offences from April 2021 to March 2022 has risen by 51 per cent from 140 to 211 respectively.
Liverpool, remember, has a population of around 500,000 (906,000, if you include the wider metropolitan area). London has a population of more than nine million and to date, there were 59 murders in the capital this year.
The most recent Liverpool victims include graduate Ashley Dale, 28, part of the environmental health team at Knowsley council, who was gunned down in her own back garden on Sunday, just hours before little Olivia was killed.
Sam Rimmer, in his twenties, was killed after shots were fired by men riding two electric bikes in Toxteth a few days earlier.
Police stress that the success rate for solving gun-related crime has ‘never been higher’, which is something to be applauded. The force’s success rate for firearms discharges, however, is still only 15 per cent.
The so-called ‘no grass’ culture – where residents refuse to inform on each other – has, rightly or wrongly, been intrinsically associated with Liverpool ever since the murder of Rhys Jones.
The culprit who pulled the trigger in that case, aged 16 at the time, was arrested just days after the shooting but was released soon afterwards. It wasn’t until eight months later that he was finally charged after the young ‘supergrass’ who had hidden the gun – known as Boy X during the trial – agreed to testify. He was given a new name and placed in a witness protection scheme.
The culture of omerta that hampered the Rhys Jones investigation was turned into an ITV drama in 2017, Little Boy Blue (Rhys was an Everton fan).
The wall of silence that follows such violence, for perhaps understandable reasons in the circumstances, was alluded to by local MP Paula Barker who urged anyone with information about the latest killings to come forward when she was interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme yesterday.
‘There is a culture within the city that people should not grass on each other,’ she said. ‘We have to bring these people to justice. It cannot drag on the way it did with Rhys Jones.’
We do not yet know the motive or reasons behind the spike in violence that culminated in the slaughter of Olivia.
The gunman, in a black balaclava, forced his way into her home in pursuit of a 35-year-old man and then opened fire with ‘complete disregard’ for anyone inside, police said.
Both Olivia’s mother and the target of the attack were injured.
But it was Olivia, who was standing directly behind her mother, who paid the ultimate price after being hit by a stray bullet.
Forensic officers near to the scene in Kingsheath Avenue, Knotty Ash, Liverpool, where police enquiries are continuing
The past tells us that crimes of this nature in Liverpool have been linked to drugs, and the drug trade is ultimately controlled by organised crime. Indeed, organised criminal gangs from the city have risen to the summit of the UK underworld and now ‘dominate’ the firearms and drugs trade outside the M25, a report by the National Crime Agency (NCA) revealed in 2020.
The NCA found that 70 per cent of all links to weapons examined in Britain led back to Liverpool and the north-west of England.
Merseyside and the broader north-west corridor, officers discovered, was home to a network of gun factories converting low-calibre weapons such as Czech-made Skorpions into deadly automatic firearms.
Converting weapons, the report said, was seen by some in the region as a viable business. A low-calibre Glock handgun, for example, bought for £135 in Eastern Europe could be converted in just 90 seconds to a 9mm weapon that could be sold for up to £5,000.
‘The mark-up is quite staggering,’ said Matt Perfect, firearms threat lead for the NCA. ‘Liverpool, the North West, is so active in this area.’
The guns are used to control the drugs trade. Cocaine is ‘sourced’ direct from South American cartels via the city’s vast container port. The demography of Liverpool, with high levels of unemployment and deprivation (research released before the pandemic showed a third of children across the region lived below the poverty line) means that joining a gang, even at the bottom of the criminal food chain, is almost impossible to resist for many youngsters.
It is a familiar narrative not just in Liverpool but in towns and cities across the country. At the time of the Rhys Jones murder, the Liverpool Echo told how small-time drug dealers made a habit of feuding with former associates and members of rival gangs, which led to violent tit-for-tat reprisals.
Ashley Dale, 28, was gunned down in her home in Old Swan, Liverpool on Sunday. Police do not believe the two murders are linked
Police forensic officers at the scene of shooting of Ms Dale in Liverpool in Leinster Road, the Old Swan area of the city
Merseyside Police were also called last night to Brambles pub on Cherryfield Drive at around 8.10pm where they found a woman with a stab wound. She was taken to hospital in a serious condition but died
To enforce their dominance they collected an arsenal of weapons including several pistols and a double-barrelled shotgun, and made petrol bombs out of Lucozade bottles filled with white spirit.
Little seems to have changed in the intervening years.
Here is just a snapshot of the violence that has erupted in Liverpool in recent weeks:
June 21: 16 year-old boy dropped off at the Royal Liverpool Hospital with gunshot wounds.
July 2: 23-year-old man arrives at hospital with gunshot wounds to his legs and back.
July 5: man in his fifties stabbed in the chest and stomach.
July 28: man stabbed in Walton.
July 31: man shot in the leg in a pub car park.
August 8: shots fired from dark-coloured car parked in Finch Way.
August 9: police officers threatened with gun by man in balaclava. Only last month, two men were convicted at Liverpool Crown Court of the street execution of 26-year-old father-of-two Patrick Boyle. He was shot twice in the chest in broad daylight in Huyton.
In April, teenage cannabis kingpin Harry O’Brien, 17, was jailed for nine years and eight months. O’Brien was 16 when he took over as leader of a squad of drug dealers behind three shootings and a firebombing.
One attack saw bullets fly from an Audi at a BMW, as the two cars raced side by side through Liverpool at night. It was lucky no one was killed. A stray bullet flew through the front door of an ‘entirely innocent’ family’s home and landed on the hall stairs.
There were 211 firearms offences on Merseyside from April 2021 to March 2022 compared to 140 the year before – a rise of 51 per cent
O’Brien also had petrol poured though the letterbox of a house and set it ablaze as a mother and children ran for their lives.
But surely there can be few more sickening attacks than the one that resulted in the death of nine-year-old Olivia in her own home.
‘My thoughts are with Olivia’s family and the people of Liverpool following this horrific, senseless shooting,’ Boris Johnson said after the killing. ‘It was an unimaginable tragedy.’
The tragedy is that it is unlikely to be the last.
Additional reporting: Tim Stewart
Faces of the fallen since the start of this year
August 22: Olivia Pratt-Korbel
Olivia was shot when a man chased by a gunman forced his way into her Knotty Ash home. Despite attempts by her mother to stop the gunman, Olivia – a pupil at St Margaret Mary’s Catholic Junior School – was shot in the chest and died in hospital.
August 22: Olivia Pratt-Korbel, nine, was shot when a man chased by a gunman forced his way into her Knotty Ash home and despite attempts by her mother to stop the gunman, Olivia – a pupil at St Margaret Mary’s Catholic Junior School – was shot in the chest and died in hospital
August 21: Karen Dempsey
Devoted grandmother Karen Dempsey, in her 50s, was stabbed to death as she tried to break up a fight between two men behind The Brambles pub in Kirkby. A man, 32, handed himself in and was arrested on suspicion of murder.
August 22: Devoted grandmother Karen Dempsey, in her 50s, was stabbed to death as she tried to break up a fight between two men behind The Brambles pub in Kirkby
August 21: Ashley Dale, 28
Knowsley Council environmental health worker and graduate Ashley, was shot dead in her garden in Old Swan. Police said her home was targeted but she was innocent and killed when intruders fired ‘indiscriminately’. No one has been arrested.
August 21: Ashley Dale, 28, a Knowsley Council environmental health worker and graduate, was shot dead in her garden in Old Swan
August 19: Sam Rimmer, 22
Sam was shot dead while with friends in a cul-de-sac in the Ding le suburb. The gunman, who was on the back of an electric bike, fled the scene. It is not known if Mr Rimmer was the intended target and no arrests have been made.
August 19: Sam Rimmer, 22, was shot dead while with friends in a cul-de-sac in the Ding le suburb
July 27: Leroy Venner, 53
Leroy was, found dead at a house in Anfield. He suffered fatal head injuries and police arrested two men, aged 60 and 43, on suspicion of murder. They have since been bailed and detectives continue to appeal for information.
July 27: Leroy Venner, 53 was, found dead at a house in Anfield, he suffered fatal head injuries and police arrested two men, aged 60 and 43, on suspicion of murder
July 24: Unnamed man, 57
A 57-year-old unnamed man was found dead at a house in Southport. Police arrested two men, aged 51 and 54, who have since been bailed. Cause of death is withheld pending toxicology results.
July 12: Christopher Molly, 55
Christopher died a week after allegedly being attacked by a gang in Bootle. Joseph Byrne, 24, has been charged with murder. Jay Byrne, 26, and a boy, 14, have been charged with assault and theft. Three teen boys, a teen girl and a girl of 12 have been bailed.
May 15: Derek Burns, 49
‘Polite’ neighbour Derek was stabbed to death in his Tuebrook flat following a disturbance. Jeffrey Kelly, 56, has since been charged with his murder.
May 12: Karen Wheeler, 62
Karen, described as a ‘sweetheart’ in tributes, was found dead by police at a flat in Birkenhead, Wirral, following reports of concern for her welfare. Described by police as a ‘domestic incident’, officers have charged Mark Wheeler, 51, with her murder
Karen Wheeler, 62, described as a ‘sweetheart’ in tributes, was found dead by police at a flat in Birkenhead, Wirral, following reports of concern for her welfare
May 11: Lorraine Cullen, 43
Mum-of-three Lorraine Cullen, 43, was found dead with stab wounds at a house in Huyton. Her youngest child is just five. A man, 21, arrested and questioned on suspicion of her murder, has been detained under the Mental Health Act.
May 11: Mum-of-three Lorraine Cullen, 43, was found dead with stab wounds at a house in Huyton, her youngest child is just five
April 16: Michael Toohey, 18
Michael died after an alleged gang attack in a city centre internet café. His girlfriend was due to give birth last month. He was killed nine years after his cousin, Johnny Delaney, 15, was kicked and stamped to death in Ellesmere Por. Nine people have been charged with Mr Toohey’s murder.
April 16: Michael Toohey, 18, died after an alleged gang attack in a city centre internet café, his girlfriend was due to give birth last month
April 10: Gary Morgan, 36
‘Caring dad’ Gary was found stabbed to death at a house in Everton. Emma Walsh, 30, also of Everton, was arrested and is due to stand trial this year charged with his murder. A man, 60, also arrested, has since been released pending further enquiries.
April 10: ‘Caring dad’ Gary Morgan, 36, was found stabbed to death at a house in Everton. Emma Walsh, 30, also of Everton, was arrested and is due to stand trial this year charged with his murder
March 14: Dylan Bacon, 39
Dylan was stabbed in Old Swan. Paramedics tried to revive him but he could not be saved. He had suffered single stab wound to the chest. Learna Chang, 25, who was also found with stab wounds and was treated in hospital, was arrested at the scene and charged with his murder
March 14: Dylan Bacon, 39, was stabbed in Old Swan and paramedics tried to revive him but he could not be saved
January 24: Andrew McDiarmid, 64
Retired police detective Andrew was stabbed to death at his upmarket home in Heswall, Wirral. He served 30 years with Merseyside police before retiring in 2008. A man, 21, arrested at the scene, was detained under the Mental Health Act.
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