Fatal Shooting Guildford Road, Birkdale

MERSEYSIDE Police have confirmed that a fatal shooting took place on Guildford Road, Birkdale, of a male, who has formally been identified as 27 year old Stephen Maguire, at around 11.35pm, on Monday, 16 March 2020.

We are told that the Emergency services were called to an address in Guildford Road, following reports of a male being shot. Merseyside Police have reported to us that:- "Our Officers and the North West Ambulance Service attended and the victim was treated for critical injuries to his leg and abdomen. He was transported to Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, a short time later. Up to 4 male offenders are thought to have done this, who have been described as wearing facial coverings and dark clothing. We are also told that they made off, from the scene, in a dark coloured Mercedes, in the direction of New Cut Lane. It is also believed at least 1 of the offenders left on a scrambler bike. We also believe that a woman and 6 year old child were reportedly upstairs, inside the house, as the shooting took place. Our enquires are at an early stage, but we believe this was a targeted attack involving and our investigation is on going."

Adding to this, Detective Superintendent Richie Salter said:- "Stephen Maguire was a young man who has lost his life in a tragic and violent way. His family and friends will now have to slowly come to terms with a future without him, and our thoughts go out to them. They will receive our full support. 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 enquiries. 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. You may have seen or heard suspicious behaviour in the Guildford Road area that night, vehicles fitting the descriptions around the time of the incident or heard people talking about what took place. I would urge you to cast your mind back and please report any information to Police. Our Officers will remain in the area today providing reassurance and gathering information. Gun crime will not be tolerated by Merseyside Police or the communities we serve and I again ask anyone with information on this incident, or dashcam or CCTV footage from Guildford Road or the surrounding area, to please get in touch as it could prove vital to the investigation."

Anyone with information should contact Merseyside Police by calling us on:- 101 quoting incident reference:- '20000166174' or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously, on:- 0800 555 111, or alliteratively you can also go online via the charity's website.

Charity shops ask for support

THE CRA on 17 March 2020, has asked the chancellor to ask for support as charity shops find themselves in an unprecedentedly precarious position due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Many shops rely on volunteers, a high proportion of whom are quite elderly and who are understandably reluctant to move from their houses given the Government's recent restrictions. In addition, footfall on the High Street is significantly down due to social distancing restrictions and this will clearly have a dramatic adverse impact on sales and productivity generally.

In response to this a number of charity shops are having to close their shops or substantially reduce their opening hours, and major announcements will be forthcoming in this area over the next few days. Robin Osterley, Chief Executive of the CRA says:- "we have asked for Government assistance to ensure that the sector can rebuild after the virus outbreak ends specifically in the form of grant funding and loans, rents and rates relief and increased funding for the wider charity sector. The knock-on effect of impoverishing charities is all the more significant because of the vulnerable nature of charities' beneficiaries. If this kind of support is not forthcoming the Government itself will be forced to pick up substantially greater financial costs to support the most vulnerable of our society, many of whom will no doubt in the meantime suffer most acutely. We therefore urge the Government to make these kinds of support available in days rather than weeks."