A minister has urged anyone with information about the “senseless” murder of a nine-year-old girl in Liverpool to come forward.
Armed forces minister James Heappey said “those who kill nine-year-olds need to be brought to justice”.
Liverpool is in a state of shock after Olivia Pratt-Korbel was shot dead on Monday night after a masked gunman, unknown to her family, chased his intended target into her home.
Her mother Cheryl Korbel, 46, was shot in the wrist as she tried to close the door on the gunman while Olivia stood behind her at their home in Kingsheath Avenue in the Dovecot area of Liverpool.
The man who had entered the family home suffered gunshot wounds to his upper body and, as Olivia lay dying, was picked up and taken to hospital by friends driving a dark-coloured Audi.
Heappey, a father-of-two, said the incident “makes you reflect on how safe you do feel in your home”.
“My kids are about the same age and you know the language that your reporter just used, and as you just observed, the senselessness of just reaching at a door and ending a nine-year-old life is pretty shocking and it makes you reflect on how safe you do feel in your own home,” he told Sky News.
“What’s extraordinary is that...lots of people saw parts of what unfolded in Liverpool and the police need those people to understand that those who kill nine-year-olds need to be brought to justice.
“The information that they hold, no matter how fearful they may be of sharing it, could be key to achieving some justice for Olivia and her family.
“Everybody in government wants those who saw what happened yesterday to come forward with the information they have so that Merseyside police can bring those responsible to book.”
Asked whether Olivia’s murder should lead to increased sentences for gun and knife crime, Heappey said: “Well, I don’t think that only a few hours after such a barbaric incident it’s right for a government minister to say that there must be a policy change, but moments like this obviously focus minds.
“I’m sure that when the new government comes together, it’s those sorts of events that cause discussions for the new home secretary and the new justice secretary, but I will leave it to them
“In the meantime, what everybody I hope agrees is that getting information to the police so that their investigation can proceed quickly, and the people responsible be brought to justice is what matters most.”
Merseyside Police chief constable Serena Kennedy said the “shocking” killing “crosses every single boundary” as the force appealed to the “criminal fraternity” in Liverpool for information.
The BBC reported that two sources had come forward and given the same name to Merseyside Police as of Wednesday morning.
Kennedy said: “We will not rest until those who are responsible are put behind bars. I can guarantee that no stone will be left unturned.”