Gran stabbed to death while trying to ‘break up furious fight’ outside pub just 6 miles from where girl, 9, shot dead
A GRAN was stabbed to death outside a pub just six miles from where a nine-year-old girl was gunned down last night.
The victim, named locally as Karen Dempsey, was allegedly trying to break up a fight between two men when she was fatally knifed.
Karen, in her 50s, was found in the car park of Brambles in Kirkby, Merseyside, at around 8.10pm following reports of an altercation.
Officers discovered a woman suffering a stab wound to her chest on Cherryfield Drive and she was rushed to hospital, but later died.
A man in his 30s also suffered puncture wounds to his arm and body, but he is recovering in hospital.
Two men, 32 and 38, have since been arrested on suspicion of murder.
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A local man said Karen, a Liverpool FC fan who had been watching her team take on Manchester United, died after trying to stop two men from scrapping in a service road behind the pub.
He told the : "The men were asked to leave because they were arguing so they both went behind the pub and had a fight.
"Karen went out and tried to break up the fight, when she was stabbed.
"She was a lovely person and was devoted to her grandchildren."
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The "altercation" unfolded just hours before an "unknown" man burst into a home and shot dead a schoolgirl six miles away in Knotty Ash.
Cops are carrying out house-to-house, CCTV and forensic enquiries in a bid to find the gunman.
The incidents are not thought to be connected.
Detective Inspector Laura Lamping said of the knifing in Kirkby: "We are currently in the very early stages of an investigation as we seek to establish what has taken place.
"We believe there was an altercation which started inside the premises and carried on outside.
"Sadly a woman suffered a stab wound which proved to be fatal.
"We currently have two people in custody but our enquiries remain ongoing."
'TRULY SHOCKING'
Anyone with information should contact Merseyside Police on 0800 555 111 quoting log 947 of August 22.
Officers previously described the horror in Knotty Ash as a "truly shocking" attack.
Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims added: "No parent should ever have to suffer the loss of a child in these dreadful circumstances.
"This crime is abhorrent and our communities must come forward and tell us who is responsible.
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"This cowardly individual does not deserve to be walking the streets and I would urge those who know anything to speak to us and tell us what they know so that we can put the person responsible behind bars where they belong."
Information can be reported to Merseyside Police on 0800 555 111 quoting log 1083 of August 22.