A woman has been found shot dead in a back garden as police launch a murder probe and hunt a car being "driven erratically".
Officers swarmed a house on Leinster Road in the Old Swan neighbourhood of Liverpool at 12.40am today.
It was after police received a concerns for safety report, and they found a woman in the rear garden of the property with injuries to her body that were consistent with gunshot wounds.
The woman was then rushed to hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Enquiries are now ongoing to formally identify the woman and inform her next of kin.
A murder investigation is underway to establish the circumstances of what happened and house-to-house and CCTV enquiries have been carried out in the local area while a cordon remains in place.
Police are particularly keen to hear from anyone who saw a vehicle being driven erratically in the area around Prescot Road.
Locals have since expressed concern after the incident, with a number of forensic officers scouring the street this afternoon.
A woman who stood at the bus stop yards from the police cordon told the Liverpool Echo: "I live around the corner and it's just so bad for the area and for the city.
"It makes you ashamed. Unfortunately there are people with guns in the area and there is nothing we can do now. It's been going on for years now. When I was a child it was a different time but now its guns and knives."
A local man, 52, said: "My friend was stabbed to death in 2010 and that shocked me. But this is unbelievable. I live around the corner from Leinster and I heard nothing last night. The poor woman. I hope the police catch him."
"Such a shame, the poor woman," added a nearby shopkeeper.
"My heart goes out to her family."
Detective Superintendent at Merseyside Police, Mark Baker, said: “This investigation is in the very early stages and while we understand the public will be very shocked and concerned by what has happened we have a number of officers at the scene who are carrying out extensive enquiries to understand what has taken place and take immediate action.
“A woman has tragically lost her life today and I want the public to be reassured that we will do everything we can to find who is responsible and bring them to justice.
“I would ask anyone who was in the area of Leinster Road in the early hours of this morning who saw or heard anything or thinks they have captured anything significant on their doorbell camera or dashcam to contact us as a matter of urgency as they may have information which is vital to our investigation.
“I would also encourage anyone who has any other information which they believe could assist with our investigation to get in touch.
"I am particularly keen to hear from anyone who saw a vehicle being driven erratically in the area around Prescot Road.”
Anyone with information is asked to DM @MerPolCC or @CrimestoppersUK on 0800 555 111 quoting log 0030 of August 21.
