INNOCENT'S PLEA
Little girl leaves devastating note outside Knotty Ash home where schoolgirl, 9, was shot dead as locals left reeling
A LITTLE girl left a devastating note on the door of the house where a nine-year-old was shot dead.
The youngster pleaded with locals to "be careful" after Olivia Pratt Korbel was gunned down in her own home last night.
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A child was today spotted coming out a property on the street holding a small sign, which was later stuck to the wall.
Another appeared taped to the front knocker of the home in Knotty Ash, Merseyside.
Both read: "Wanted. Be careful. People the loose. They have guns."
Olivia was killed after a gunman chased his intended target into her home and opened fire "with complete disregard" for anyone else.
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He blasted the schoolgirl in the chest and her mum Cheryl in the wrist before fleeing the scene. He is still on the loose.
Olivia was pronounced dead a short time later, leaving her family "absolutely inconsolable and heartbroken".
The intended target - a 35-year-old man - was treated for multiple wounds to his upper body.
Merseyside Police said they believe there had been a commotion outside Olivia's house on Kingsheath Avenue and Cheryl opened the door to see what was going on.
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One of the men then forced his way inside, followed by the gunman who fired a shot which hit Cheryl, it is understood.
He then fired again, fatally wounding little Olivia, who police believe was standing behind her mum.
The attack - the third fatal shooting in Liverpool in less than a week - has left the local community reeling.
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.
"I want to take the opportunity to appeal to members of the criminal fraternity and ask them to examine their consciences as they will have vital information that can help us.
"The killing of a nine-year-old child is an absolute tragedy and crosses every single boundary, and I would urge them to do the right thing so we can put this person behind bars."
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The killing came 15 years to the day after 11-year-old Rhys Jones was shot dead in the Croxteth area of Liverpool.
Ms Kennedy said: "No mum, no dad, no sister or brother should ever have to experience loss in this way.
"Poignantly, Olivia was killed on the 15th anniversary of the murder of Rhys Jones - his murder should have been a watershed moment in the battle against gun crime and the use of guns on our streets.
"But shockingly there are still callous criminals who are prepared to use weapons on our streets and have utter disregard for the heartache and the pain that they have caused to Olivia's family."
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It also follows the death of Ashley Dale, 28, who was shot dead just two miles away in her back garden in Old Swan in a case of mistaken identity.
And in a separate bloodbath, Sam Rimmer, 22, was fatally shot in Toxteth on Wednesday.
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