26-year-old Elle Edwards named as Christmas Eve shooting victim
She was killed at a pub in Wallasey on Saturday night
Last updated 26th Dec 2022
The victim of a shooting at a pub in Wallasey, Merseyside on Christmas Eve has been named as 26-year-old Elle Edwards.
It's thought Elle was at the Lighthouse Inn with her sister before the shooting took place.
Tributes to the 26-year-old have started to pour in, on Instagram, friends and colleagues of Elle wrote:
"Absolutely lost for words … Heaven gained the most beautiful angel 😭🤍 we are all heartbroken, thinking of all of your family right now elle, thank you for all of the laughs and happiness you brought into our lives, rest in paradise angel, love from your team at nova 🙏🏼😭💔"
Floral tributes have also been left at the scene of the shooting.
Police say they don't believe she was the intended target.
They believe the gunman fired shots towards the front entrance of the pub and that minutes later a dark-coloured vehicle "possibly an A class Mercedes" was seen leaving the car park.
Detective Superintendent Sue Coombs told a press conference on Christmas Day: "Tragically the victim, a 26-year-old woman, had suffered a serious gunshot injury to her head.
"She was taken to Arrowe Park Hospital but sadly passed away shortly afterwards.
"Her family have been informed and on today, which should be a day with friends celebrating, they are coming to terms with this tragic loss.
"It's very early stages of the investigation but we do not believe that the victim in this case has been targeted.
"She was out enjoying Christmas with her sister and friends at what should have been a peaceful time.
"What her family are now going through is incomprehensible."
Police said a 28-year-old man from Beechwood in the Wirral is in a critical condition.
The other three injured include a 22-year-old man, also from Beechwood, who has leg injuries, a 24-year-old man from Wallasey with a hand injury and a 33-year-old man who suffered an injury to his wrist.
Ms Coombs said they were still trying to establish a motive for the "callous shooting" and appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
She said: "We believe that the gunman fired shots towards the front entrance of the pub, we know that minutes later, a dark-coloured vehicle, possibly an A class Mercedes, was seen to leave the pub car park, so we are particularly keen to speak to that male and anybody who knows anything about that vehicle.
"We won't rest until we find the people responsible for this terrible, terrible crime."
A spokesman for the Lighthouse pub said the shooting was "a tragedy beyond any words" while Wirral council leader Janette Williamson described it as "nothing less than despicable".
Wallasey MP Dame Angela Eagle said the incident was "heartbreaking" and appealed for anyone with information to contact police.
Neighbour Jenny Hough, 77, told the PA news agency: "I heard the shots. I thought it was a firework actually, because it was nearly midnight.
"I just thought it was people celebrating midnight on Christmas Day."
Jeffrey Hughes, minister of the United Reformed Church in Wallasey Village, said news of the shooting will have come as a shock.
He told PA: "Wallasey Village is a fairly lively area, it's a nice part of Wallasey, its a nice part of the north end of the Wirral.
"We've got a lot of young people, families in that area. The Lighthouse is central in that community.
"It's a shock. When we first heard the news this morning that there'd been a shooting in Wallasey, Wallasey Village is the last place you would think of."