Suspect Arrested Over Murder of 9-Year-Old Liverpool Girl Was on Early Prison Release

Nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel was fatally shot on Tuesday after the victim of an attempted gangland murder fled into her home, chased by the masked gunman, who fired indiscriminately through a gap as her mother tried to close the door on him.

Liverpool police have arrested the target of a gangland shooting that left a nine-year-old girl dead in her own home.

The announcement of the arrest came shortly after police received two separate tip-offs after making a rare appeal to members of the city's "criminal fraternity" to identify the killer.

The 35-year-old target of the shooting — later named by a local newspaper as Joseph Nee — was on early release from prison after serving part of his sentence for burglary, but had already broken the terms of his parole. Police said he was arrested at a hospital on a prison recall order after breaching the terms of his release licence.

He will now be questioned over the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, who was fatally shot in the chest on Tuesday in the Knotty Ash area of the city while they continue the hunt for the killer.

Earlier on Wednesday, Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said the "shocking" killing "crosses every single boundary."

Police said Olivia's mother Cheryl Korbel opened her front door to witness the commotion in the street in what was Liverpool's third shooting in days.

The gunman's target, an adult male who had by that point already been hit and wounded, then fled into her home. The masked gunman pursued the man, while Cheryl Korbel tried to shut the door in his face.

The gunman then reached through the gap in the closing and fired a handgun "blind" into the residence, police said.

Cheryl Korbel was shot and injured as she tried to slam the door. The same bullet passed through her wrist and struck her daughter Olivia, fatally injuring her.

As the girl lay dying, the targeted man's friends took him to hospital in a dark-colored Audi car. They have also since been arrested.

Police officers responding to the incident rushed Olivia to the city's Alder Hey hospital, where she died of her injury.

The intended victim of the shooting was said to be in a "stable" condition in hospital on Wednesday, despite several gunshot wounds to his upper body.