Two arrested after 11 year old shot dead

Aug 23 2007 by Alan Weston, Liverpool Daily Post

AN 11-YEAR-OLD boy died after a lone gunman opened fire on him outside a crowded pub on a Merseyside estate last night.

Horrified onlookers rushed to the aid of Rhys Jones, who was making his way home across the pub car park after playing football close to the Fir Tree bar and restaurant in the Croxteth Park area.

Attempts to resuscitate him failed and he died shortly afterwards at Alder Hey children’s hospital. Rhys, said by police to live with his mother and brother in the area, is one of Britain’s youngest-ever victims of gun crime.

The gunman, wearing a dark hooded top, was on a BMX bike and fled the scene after firing three shots from a distance of about 30 metres.

One of the shots hit the Rhys, who was wearing a football strip, in the neck.

Police last night appealed for help from the public to identify and catch the killer, as Home Secretary Jacqui Smith expressed her condolences to Rhys's family. A full-scale crime scene was set up around the pub car park in Fir Tree Drive South after the killing, which took place at around 7.30pm.

Two teenagers, aged 14 and 18, were arrested overnight.

A fingertip search was being carried out to help identify the firearm used.

One man, who declined to be named, was one of the first on the scene after the shooting and described how the victim’s mother was calling out to her son.

“I was about 20 yards away from him and heard a loud bang,” he said.

“The boy was lying on the ground and tried to say something.

“Other people were trying to resuscitate him and his mother was on the scene. She was in hysterics, all I could hear her saying was ‘Stay with us.’

“The gunman just disappeared the way he came. He a was teenager, about 15 years old.”

Another eye witness said: “I was walking over to the pub to watch the England match when I saw him lying on the ground and getting his chest pumped.

“It’s a huge shock. He didn’t hang around with the people involved in gangs, all he was doing was playing football.

“It looks like it was a targeted attack, but they got the wrong person.”

Merseyside chief constable BernardHogan-Howe said his reaction to the murder was one of “absolute shock and horror”.

“Any murder is terrible and any shooting is a terrible event, but for an 11-year-old boy to die in this way on the streets has got to be something we all have to make sure does not happen again.”

Mr Hogan-Howe repeated earlier calls for the community and local gangs to come forward with information.

“Somebody out there will know who did this. They will know who committed the crime and who provided the weapon - and we want them both,” he added

At a press conference last night, Merseyside Assistant Chief Constable Simon Byrne said it was too early to say whether the attack was a targeted one, or if it was a tragic mistake.

“This 11-year-old boy lost his life while playing football. This is a quite senseless and awful crime and we can only imagine the heartache of the family,” he said.

“There is someone out there who knows who the killer is. We want the community’s help to turn that gunman in.”

He confirmed that police were looking for one offender in relation to the shooting.

He added: “It is too early to say if this is related to the gang culture. However, we do know the victim was not involved in any criminal activity.

“In the past, we have often come up against a wall of silence but enough is enough and the shooting of an 11-year-old boy demands that the community should come together.

“I would like to appeal to members of the criminal community to examine their consciences. An innocent young boy who had his life ahead of him died this evening while he was playing a simple game of football with his friends.

“His family have been torn apart and now justice needs to be done. Members of the criminal fraternity could have the key to this and we would appeal to them to come forward.

“I have two questions to ask of people out there. Who is the killer? And who put the gun in their hands?”

The area around the Fir Tree pub was made a “designated area” by police last year, meaning officers could disperse groups and move people away from the area.

The decision was made in response to concerns raised by local residents about youths gathering outside the pub and local shops.

Norman Brennan, director of the Victims of Crime Trust, said: “Tonight's shooting of an 11-year-old boy in Liverpool surely has pushed Britain to a turning point or to the point of no return.”

The campaign group Mothers Against Guns described the shooting as “horrendous”, and said it was time the problem of gun crime was addressed at grassroots level.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said: “I am shocked and saddened. My thoughts are with the victim’s family and friends.”

alanweston@dailypost.co.uk

Another young victim of gun crimes plague

THE fatal shooting of a young boy in Croxteth last night is the latest incident in a spate of gun crime involving children and young people that has rocked Britain in the past six months.

His death came only hours after Tory leader David Cameron warned that the country was facing a “real and growing problem” of violence and anti-social behaviour.

Today marks the first anniversary of the fatal shooting of Liverpool 19-year-old Liam “Smigger” Smith, outside Altcourse Prison, Fazakerley.

London alone has seen at least six teen- agers killed in shootings since February and 17 murdered this year.

Outside the capital, Manchester has also seen its fair share of shootings, one involving a 12-year-old girl, Kamilah Peniston.

Cahill: "Tragic waste of a young life"

Tim Cahill has spoken of his sadness at the death of the young boy murdered in Liverpool on Wednesday night.

11-year old Rhys Jones, an Everton supporter, was killed by a bullet fired at him in the car park of a public house and Cahill, like everyone else, is stunned by the awful crime.

"It’s unthinkable that a young kid playing football can end up being killed," he told evertonfc.com.

"My heart, prayers and sympathy go out to the family. I’ve got young children of my own and I can’t begin to imagine just how Rhys’s family are feeling right now.

"I just hope that whoever carried out this act is brought to justice. It’s unbelievable and such a tragic waste of a young life."

Police on Merseyside arrested two youths on suspicion of murder on Thursday morning.