Residents describe terror after gunman opens fire on ‘quiet’ street as gun violence returns to Liverpool
Residents say they have been shaken by the shooting that took place on the road which is usually “quiet” with “nothing going on”
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Residents have been left “terrified” after a lone gunman opened fire last night on their quiet street in Liverpool and believe gun crime is “getting worse” in the city.
People living on Malpas Road in Liverpool told The Independent how they hid in their homes after hearing several gunshots late on Wednesday night.
A night of terror unfolded when armed police responded to three reports of a triple shooting at a newsagents, cinema and a property on Malpas Road.
Merseyside police confirmed that no one was injured over the course of the three-hour crime spree, and that the incident was not terror-related.
Many witnesses at the final shooting location were too afraid to be named but told The Independent that the street was usually quiet with “nothing ever going on”.
“I heard three gunshots just when I was getting ready to go to bed,” one resident said.
“It’s very scary because it’s so close to home. Nothing ever goes on in this street. It’s usually really quiet and definitely the quietest in the area, so it’s all very shocking.”
Other residents spoke about the terrifying ordeal and said: “It was at around ten or 11pm and I heard three shots. The first two seemed to be quieter and then the third was louder. It was horrible. Absolutely terrifying. I haven’t even left the house today yet as I’m a nervous wreck and I normally would.”
The shooter arrived on the street around two hours after reports of him first opening fire at a newsagents.
Merseyside Police were called to Sangha newsagents on Lower House Lane to reports that a man had entered the shop at about 8pm, threatened the store assistant and demanded cash before firing a gun and leaving empty handed.
At 8.50pm, police received second reports of shots being fired at Showcase Cinemas on East Lancashire Road after a man entered carrying a firearm and allegedly threatened two workers
The gunman left the scene in a car and the cinema was locked down for about 45 minutes following the incident.
Later, at about 10.20pm, further reports were received that shots were heard at a property on Malpas Road.
A resident said that she considered the street to be a close-knit community but was too scared to leave her home when she heard the shots.
Speaking to The Independent, she said: “We didn’t go outside and get involved, we thought it would be safest to just stay inside. We’re usually quite a friendly street but everyone’s been keeping themselves to themselves today. There’s still been a quite a lot of activity on the street.”
Witnesses also spoke about other incidents of gun violence in Liverpool and how it informed their reaction.
In 2022, 23-year-old beautician Elle Chapman was shot dead outside a pub on Christmas Eve. Her death came months after council worker Ashley Dale, 28, was fatally shot in her back garden in Liverpool.
Also in 2022, nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel was shot in the chest at her home in Dovecot, Liverpool, on 22 August.
Olivia was killed after the intended target of the attack, Joseph Nee, ran into her home after her mother went out to see what the noise was.
The gunman, Thomas Cashman, shot through the door and was later convicted of her murder.
Remembering the incident, a Malpas Road resident said: “We didn’t open the door because we remember what happened to that little girl. It was really scary, and you feel helpless.”
When asked whether they believe gun crime in Liverpool is getting worse, another resident said: “There’s a sense that it’s getting worse. Especially when you see it outside your door like this. Something needs to be done but it’s out of our hands really.”
This sentiment was echoed by several other residents who said that more needs to be done to stop gun crime in the area.
“It actually wasn’t that shocking to me that this had happened. I’ve lived here all my life so I’m used to it,” one resident said. “It’s obvious that something needs to be done but what?”
Nearby Sangha’s newsagents, where the first shots were fired, a teenager who heard the shots also told The Independent he was also concerned about knife crime in the area.
“I was going past on my bike last night and I heard something that sounded to me like fireworks. I thought it could be New Year’s fireworks or there were a few groups of people I thought could be setting them off,” he said.
“I only found out at around midnight that it was shooting. Gun crime isn’t that common around here, there’s more knife crime if anything.”
Witness Craig Moorhead, who had been watching Wonka with his 14-year-old daughter at the Showcase cinema, said a staff member had told him a “fella had pointed a shotgun at her”.
“As we came out of the cinema screen the armed police response team was running in,” he told the Liverpool Echo, adding that the staff was in “shock”.
The man, who was arrested on suspicion of possession of a Section 1 firearm with intent to endanger life and robbery, has been taken to a police station in Merseyside where he remains in custody.
Assistant Chief Constable Jenn Wilson, said: “Thankfully incidents like this, involving a single offender in three separate shootings in close proximity and quick succession, are extremely rare and this is the first time we have had to deal with an incident of this nature on the streets of Merseyside.
“The shocking and distressing impact these incidents will have had on the shop assistant, the staff at the Showcase Cinema and those filmgoers who found themselves in a lockdown situation in the complex after shots were fired outside the cinema and the residents of Malpas Road cannot be underestimated.”