Woman killed in Liverpool shooting was not intended target, police say

Ms Dale's relatives said her killing was "a senseless crime that has torn a family apart"

A woman who died after being shot at her own home was not the intended target of the attack, police have said.

Ashley Dale was found wounded in her back garden in Old Swan, Liverpool, in the early hours of Sunday and died a short time later in hospital.

Her door had been forced and several shots fired, Merseyside Police said.

Det Ch Supt Mark Kameen said the 28-year-old was "an innocent member of the public" who had been "callously and thoughtlessly shot".

A force spokesman said the council worker was found with gunshot wounds in the garden of her house in Leinster Road at about 00:40 BST and died in hospital a short time later.

'A senseless crime'

In a statement, her family said Ms Dale had been "a hard working young woman, who had her entire life ahead of her" and had "just been promoted at her job with Knowsley Council".

They said she had a degree and "so many plans for her bright future that had only just begun", adding that her "laugh, smile and energy was infectious in any room".

"We can't come to terms with how this would happen to a defenceless woman in her own home," they said.

"None of this makes sense and our lives will never be the same again.

"A senseless crime that has torn a family apart."

Ms Dale was the half-sister of 16-year-old Lewis Dunne, who was shot dead in a case of mistaken identity in Liverpool in 2015.

Ms Dale was found in the back garden of her home on Leinster Road in Old Swan

Confirming that no arrests had been made, Mr Kameen said he wanted the community to "have a sense of utter disgust, revulsion and shock" at the "tragic" and "senseless" death.

He urged people to "come together" to identify those responsible.

He said Ms Dale was "an innocent member of the public".

"She was in her own house... and she has been callously and thoughtlessly shot by individuals who have no regard for anyone in our community, no regard for the law," he said.

Appealing for witnesses, he added that the force was particularly interested in information about a vehicle which was seen being driven erratically on nearby Prescot Road.