Man ‘shot dead after family sent upstairs’
MASKED criminals who shot a man dead inside a family home reportedly told his partner and a sixyear-old child to get upstairs.
The emergency services were called out to Guildford Road in Birkdale at about 11.35 on Monday night following reports of a shooting.
The victim, named locally as Stephen Maguire, was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
He had been shot in the leg and stomach.
A local source said: “The kicked the front door down and went in.
“They told the woman and child to go upstairs out of the way and then shot him. I think they shot him a few times.”
The source suggested that an organised crime gang was behind the shooting.
Police confirmed a woman and six-year-old child were reportedly upstairs inside the house when the shooting happened.
Police said that the killers fled the scene in a dark Mercedes-Benz in the direction of New Cut Lane.
A fifth man is believed to have made off on scrambler bike.
A police spokesman said: “We believe a woman and six-year-old child were reportedly upstairs inside the house as the shooting took place.”
A cordon remained in place on Tuesday and officers were in the Guildford Road area continuing house-to-house, forensic and CCTV inquiries.
The spokesman said: “This was a truly shocking incident and our investigation to establish the full circumstances and find those responsible continues. It is all the more shocking because a child was nearby at the time, inside the property which is at the centre of our inquiries.
“Although we do not believe they saw what happened, there is no doubt what followed must have been an extremely traumatic time for all those involved. This has also caused significant distress in the wider community, and we call upon that community to come forward with any information that might help us find those who carried out this brutal attack and bring them to justice.”