Olivia Pratt-Korbel: two men bailed after killing of UK schoolgirl

'We need names. Silence is not an option,' police say nearly a week after the nine-year-old's death

A nine-year-old girl fatally shot as she stood behind her mother who was trying to stop a gunman entering the family home has been identified as Olivia Pratt-Korbel.

Children leave flowers near the scene in Kingsheath Avenue, Knotty Ash, Liverpool. PA

A police officer lays flowers. PA

Olivia died after the shooting on Monday night when a 35-year-old man who is not known to the family ran into their terraced house in the Dovecot area of Liverpool in an attempt to get away from a gunman. PA

Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Kameen and Chief Constable Serena Kennedy from Merseyside Police speak to the media. PA

The people of Liverpool are being urged to turn in the masked gunman who killed Olivia. PA

An aerial view of forensic officers near the scene. AP

Forensic officers on Kingsheath Avenue in Knotty Ash. PA

Two men have been released on bail as police issued another appeal for information into the killing of Liverpool schoolgirl Olivia Pratt-Korbel.

The nine-year-old was fatally shot on Monday, a victim of apparently random violence, after a gunman chased his intended target into her home in Dovecot, Liverpool.

As her mother Cheryl, 46, tried to close the front door, the attacker fired a bullet that injured her before striking the chest of the child standing behind her.

Merseyside Police issued a video appeal urging people with information about the killer to come forward.

In a short but dramatic clip on Twitter, the force said that anyone withholding information must give it up.

During the video, a voice-over states: “We’ve got parents who’ve lost their children.

“We’ve got a nine-year-old girl who won’t celebrate her 18th birthday. She won’t celebrate her wedding. She won’t have children of her own.

“If you’ve got information and you’re withholding it, you’re protecting the killers. We need your information. Provide that information to us and we’ll do the rest.”

As well as images of Olivia and flowers at the scene of the shooting, the video also features images of Ashley Dale and Sam Rimmer.

Council worker Ashley Dale was fatally shot in Old Swan, Liverpool, on August 21.

The 28-year-old, who worked in the environmental health team at Knowsley Council, was found dead in the back garden of a house. It is believed she was not the intended victim.

Sam Rimmer, 22, was shot in Dingle, Liverpool, on August 16.

The force on Saturday appealed for anyone with information about a black Audi Q3 to come forward.

“Our investigation into Olivia's tragic murder is continuing and we still need people to come forward so we can build up a strong evidential picture and bring those responsible to justice,” Merseyside Police said.

“We are still appealing to anyone who saw a black Audi Q3 car in the days leading up to the shooting, or has any information about its movements after leaving Kingsheath Avenue on the night of the shooting.”

The police have released an image of a black Audi Q3 which has been seized and which they believe is the same car used to take 35-year-old Joseph Nee — allegedly the target of the shooter — to hospital.

Police also pushed their appeal for information on social media, insisting “silence is not an option”.

The force tweeted: “A simple request — share this far and wide, to everyone you know, and ask them to share it further still, so that there's no hiding place for anyone involved in the murder of little Olivia.

“We need names. Silence is not an option.”

The two men bailed were arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.

One of them, a 36-year-old from Huyton, was recalled to prison after breaching the terms of his licence. The other is a 33-year-old man from Dovecot.

Olivia died after a gunman allegedly chased Nee, a convicted burglar, into the family home.

Assistant mayor of Liverpool Harry Doyle said people had come forward in the days since the murder because they “want to see justice” for the little girl and her loved ones, and that the arrests had brought “a sense of hope and relief”.

Olivia's family have urged people to “do the right thing”, saying that speaking up “is not about being a 'snitch' or a 'grass', it is about finding out who took our baby away from us”.

Liverpool football captain Jordan Henderson wore a top reading “RIP Olivia YNWA (You'll Never Walk Alone)” during the team's victory against Bournemouth on Saturday.

Anyone with CCTV, dashcam or smart doorbell footage that they think could help police in their investigation can submit it on the public portal at mipp.police.uk, police said.