Detectives appealing for information after man presents to hospital with gunshot wound

Detectives are appealing for information after a man presented at hospital with a gunshot wound last night, Friday 19 April, following a shooting which has now been confirmed as happening in Toxteth.

At around 6.20pm, hospital staff reported that a man in his 20s had been brought in having sustained a gunshot injury to his groin, in what is believed to have been a targeted attack. The injuries received were not life threatening.

No calls were received by police yesterday in connection with this shooting, but following exhaustive enquiries overnight and this morning, detectives have now confirmed the location as the area of Solway Street East and Dove Street in Toxteth.

Forensic, house-to-house and CCTV enquiries have been carried out at the location to establish the exact circumstances and to speak to the community.

Detective Chief Inspector John Williams said: “The victim is not cooperating with us at this stage, so instead we need to hear from anyone who saw or heard gunfire in these streets around 6pm, or has since heard anything being discussed, whether within the L8 community, or further afield.

“Do you live in these street or were passing by as someone was making away from the scene, or did you see any vehicle making off at speed? You might not have paid these details much attention yesterday, but in view of what we now know, we need to hear from you, whether it be dashcam footage, CCTV, mobile phone images or names of those involved.

“We understand that some people are rightly fearful of repercussions when speaking to police, but I can assure those who know what happened and want the scourge of gun crime off their streets of this fact: we are here for you. You can come forward directly to us, or anonymously to Crimestoppers, which is a charity completely independent of police. Like us, they will handle your information with the utmost sensitivity.

“We will listen to what you say and it will help take action to piece together what led to this man’s injuries, and remove those responsible and their weapon from our communities. Guns and ammunition have been taken off the streets in recent days, and working alongside our communities, we will keep taking such positive action and making it harder for organised criminals to operate in these areas.”

Anyone with information can contact @MerPolCC, call 101 with reference 762 of 19 April, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.