Electric bike abandoned near shooting scene as Liverpool street remains cordoned

Lodge Lane in Toxteth remained sealed off by police tape on Friday morning, the street's usual rhythm broken by the aftermath of gunfire that erupted the night before. Around 8pm on Thursday, shots rang out near the intersection of Lodge Lane and Coltart Road. Witnesses heard three distinct reports. When people ventured closer, they found spent ammunition casings scattered on the ground—physical evidence of what had happened in those seconds of violence.

Police moved quickly. Within hours of the shooting, officers arrested a 20-year-old man on suspicion of carrying a firearm. He was taken directly to hospital, where doctors found he had suffered a serious head wound. By Thursday night, his condition was described as serious but stable—not life-threatening, though grave enough to require immediate medical attention. The circumstances of how he came to be injured remained unclear in those early hours.

Eyewitnesses painted a fragmentary picture of the scene. One man told reporters he had been nearby when the gunshots sounded. His friend initially thought the noise was a car backfiring, but when he went to investigate, the reality became obvious: cartridge cases lying on the pavement. That same witness reported seeing an electric bike abandoned close to where the shots had been fired. Police also received reports of a high-powered vehicle in the area at the time, though its connection to the incident was not immediately established.

By Friday morning, the cordon stretched across the street, forcing significant disruption to the neighborhood. Officers conducted line searches near Coltart Road and around the grounds of Handel Court, a sheltered accommodation building in the area. Traffic backed up as drivers had to divert down side streets. A bus attempting to navigate the closure had to execute a laborious three-point turn on the narrow road, compounding congestion during the morning rush. Children heading to school were turned away from their usual routes and forced to walk around the police barrier. Groups of residents gathered at the cordon throughout the morning, many saying they had no idea a shooting had occurred despite living or working just streets away.

Detective Inspector Sean Kelly-Martland released a statement describing the incident as appearing to be a targeted attack, though police said they were keeping an open mind about the full circumstances. He emphasized that the use of weapons on Liverpool's streets would not be tolerated and promised an extensive investigation aimed at identifying those responsible and removing firearms from circulation. The force appealed for anyone who had witnessed suspicious activity around Coltart Road at 8pm, or who had captured home CCTV or dashcam footage, to come forward with information.

The shooting came just hours after police launched a separate murder investigation in nearby Southport, where the body of a 32-year-old man had been discovered on Eastbourne Road. Two men—aged 23 and 32—were arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with that death. Police made clear there was no indication the two incidents were linked, though the timing underscored the volatility gripping the region.