Teenager Lewis Dunne shot dead in Eldonian Village, Liverpool

Police said Lewis Dunne was shot in the back and was found by a passer-by

A 16-year-old boy has been shot dead in Liverpool.

Lewis Dunne was found on a towpath near Burrows Court in Eldonian Village, Vauxhall, by a passer-by, who gave him first aid before police arrived at about 23:10 GMT on Sunday.

He died a short while later at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Merseyside Police said.

A post-mortem examination found the teenager died from a single shotgun wound to the back, the force said.

It would not comment on reports a "gang fight" had taken place but said detectives were "keeping an open mind" as to the circumstances surrounding his death.

Updates on this story and more from Merseyside and Cheshire

A murder investigation has been launched and police have spent much of the day examining a cordoned-off section of towpath and the whole of Burrows Court.

Police divers have also been searching the canal next to where the boy's body was found, while high-visibility patrols have been deployed.

Detectives are also retrieving CCTV footage of the surrounding area.

Forensics officers have been examining the towpath for evidence

Police divers were deployed to trawl the canal near for possible evidence

One resident of Eldonian Village, who knew Lewis and would only identify himself as Dylan, said the teenager lived in the area.

"I woke up this morning and I'd got a text off my mate saying Little Lewy was dead," he said.

"[He was] a very kind kid, who would do anything for you."

Another local teenager told BBC Radio Merseyside that a "gang fight had been arranged" for the area where the 16-year-old boy was found dead.

Appealing to the public for information, Assistant Chief Constable Ian Pilling said it was "difficult to imagine what Lewis's mother and father are going through at this moment in time".

"No mother or father expects to bury their child at the age of 16 years," he said.

"I believe someone, somewhere, knows who has done this, and would ask them to search their conscience and do the right thing."

At the scene

Dave Guest, BBC North West Tonight

A mobile police station has been set up at Eldonian Village

The crime that happened on their doorsteps was shocking enough, but for the people of this neighbourhood it's the age of the victim that's more shocking still.

People living close to the canal side where the youth was gunned down say it's a spot popular with teenagers who hang around there during the evenings - but never could they have imagined what would happen last night.

One, who didn't want to be named, said he heard a bang and assumed it was a firework. It was only when the police arrived in numbers that he discovered what had happened.

Another woman said: "Sixteen. You have to feel for the poor lad's family."