Police hunt man who entered nursery with gun

POLICE WERE last night hunting a man who walked into a children’s nursery armed with a gun.

The suspect entered the Child’s Play Nursery in Liverpool at 8.10am yesterday, carrying what is believed to have been a firearm.

He was looking for another man, police said, who is not a staff member at the nursery, who was at the centre in Heathfield Road, Wavertree, as parents dropped their children off for the day.

The suspect left shortly afterwards with a second suspect on a motorbike.

Officers were called and noone was injured during the incident, which police have described as “targeted”.

A police cordon remained in place at the nursery to offer reassurance to pupils and parents, and crime scene investigators were carrying out forensic examinations at the scene.

House-to-house inquiries were being carried out in the area and high-visibility patrols have been stepped up to reassure the public.

Detective Chief Inspector John Webster, from Merseyside Police, said: “The investigation is in its very early stages and we are keeping an open mind as to why this has happened, but we believe it was targeted and that the men were looking for a man who was in the nursery at the time who is not a member of staff.

“I’m sure the vast majority of people in the community will be appalled to find that two men have walked into a nursery reportedly carrying a firearm when children and their parents were arriving at the start of the day.

“We look to the community to help us by providing information to bring those responsible to justice.

“We need to identify the people responsible and put them before the courts before they cause any further harm in our communities. This is another reminder that criminals involved in gun crime have no regard for anyone else and I would urge the local community to come together to help us take a stand against the use of firearms.”