A man was shot dead with a crossbow in a residential street, say police.
The victim, aged in his 30s, was found injured in Monfa Road in Bootle, Merseyside, at 1.55am on Monday morning.
He was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead a short time later.
A postmortem confirmed that the cause of death was abdominal bleeding due to a deep penetrating wound “consistent with a crossbow discharge”, according to a statement from Merseyside Police.
Two men aged 41 and 49, both from Bootle, have been arrested on suspicion of murder.
“Detectives believe all parties involved knew each other,” a police spokesman said.
“Enquiries are ongoing to formally identify the victim, whose next of kin are aware.”
The scene in Monfa Road was still cordoned off on Tuesday morning as the search for evidence continued.
Appealing for witnesses, detective chief inspector Gayle Rooney said: “This is a truly shocking crime which has occurred in a residential area, and a man has tragically lost his life in an appalling act of violence.
“It is vital that anyone with information that could assist our enquiries gets in touch. You may have witnessed part of the incident or suspicious behaviour in the area and any information, no matter how small, may prove vital to our investigation.
“Likewise, if you have any CCTV or dashcam footage, please contact us.”
Police said the crossbow has been recovered.
