Sir Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper met with murder detectives from Merseyside Police to discuss the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel over the weekend.
The Labour leader, who previously served as the Director of Public Prosecutions, and Shadow Home Secretary Ms Cooper are in Liverpool for the ongoing Labour Party Conference. Olivia, nine, was shot dead when a gunman carrying two firearms burst into her home on Kingsheath Avenue, Dovecot, at around 10pm on Monday, August 22.
The killer had been chasing 35-year-old convicted drug dealer and burglar Joseph Nee, who fled into Olivia's property to escape. However Nee's would-be assassin pointed a .38 caliber revolver into the house and pulled the trigger, wounding Olivia's mum, Cheryl Korbel, in the arm and hitting the schoolgirl in the chest.
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Nine people have so far been arrested in connection with the shooting, but no-one has yet been charged. Merseyside Police did say last week that the types of firearms used in the shooting have been identified, but the weapons themselves have yet to be found.
Today a source told the Mirror: "It was really important for Keir and Yvette to go and speak to these officers after the unthinkable killing of a nine-year-old girl in her own home and to thank them. They heard how hard these officers were working but also how much they cared about finding the killer."
The killer is believed to be linked to a notorious Huyton gang in dispute with another drug dealing crime group. Detectives say the other gun used by the killer and which wounded Nee was a self-loading 9mm Glock handgun, linked to two other shootings in the area.
Also announced last week was a record £200,000 Crimestoppers reward for information leading to the conviction of Olivia's killer. The sum is the biggest single reward offered in the history of the charity.
Only information given exclusively to the charity Crimestoppers via the 0800 555 111 number or the secure anonymous online form here will qualify.
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