Elle Edwards: Type of gun used in pub shooting shown to jury

Elle Edwards was killed outside the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village, Merseyside, on 24 December 2022

A sub-machine gun capable of firing 15 rounds a second has been shown to the trial of a man accused of shooting a woman outside a pub on Christmas Eve.

Elle Edwards was killed by a man who opened fire with a Skorpion gun outside the Lighthouse in Wallasey Village, Merseyside, on 24 December 2022.

Liverpool Crown Court has heard the shooting was allegedly the culmination of a feud between two groups.

Connor Chapman, 23, has denied murdering the 26-year-old.

Forensic firearms scientist Andre de Villiers Horne showed the court a Skorpion pistol of the type used in the shooting.

Before demonstrating how the gun would be loaded and discharged, he told jurors he had checked it before coming into court and there was no ammunition inside.

The weapon was then passed around the jury as Mr Horne explained it had three modes - safe, semi-automatic or fully automatic.

He said that on fully automatic mode, it would fire a volley of shots in rapid succession.

"This particular gun has got a high firing rate of 14 to 15 rounds per second, so if you pull the trigger and don't let go very quickly, before you can sneeze, you would have emptied the magazine," he said.

The gunman used a Skorpion sub-machine gun similar to the one which Mr Horne showed to the jury

Mr Horne told the court he believed the gun was in semi-automatic, or single-shooting mode, when it was used on 24 December.

Footage of the shooting was played in court, in which Mr Horne said he had identified an initial volley of seven shots, before a further two shots, a brief pause and then another three shots.

"If the gun had been set to fully automatic fire, at a rate of 14 to 15 rounds per second, that would have been much faster than that," he said.

He said that if the gun had been set to fully automatic, the first seven shots would have been fired within half a second.

The court also heard a single particle of gunshot residue was found on the back of a red glove recovered at the home of Thomas Waring, 20, where Mr Chapman is alleged to have gone after the shooting.

Footage played earlier in the trial appeared to show the gunman wearing red gloves during the shooting.

Forensic scientist Dr Mandy Wood said the finding was of little significance, because only one particle of residue was found.

Mr Chapman has denied the murder of Ms Edwards, two counts of attempted murder and three counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

He has also denied possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and possession of ammunition with intent to endanger life.

Mr Waring, 20, of Private Drive, Barnston, Wirral, has denied possessing a prohibited weapon and assisting an offender by helping Mr Chapman to dispose of the car.

The trial continues.