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ITN
Police appeal to Rhys killer
Police appeal to Rhys killer
Merseyside Police have appealed directly to the killer of Liverpool youngster Rhys Jones to "hand yourself in".Assistant Chief Constable Patricia Gallan also asked the public for help to find who shot the 11-year-old football fan as he walked home from practice on Wednesday.Asst Chief Con Gallan said: "I need more help in solving this crime. We need to get this killer off the streets."Rhys's heartbroken parents have also pleaded for help in finding their "baby's" killer. His mum, Melanie, cradled him in her arms in his dying moments after he was gunned down outside the Fir Tree pub in Croxteth.Mrs Jones, 41, said: "Our son was only 11, only a baby, this should not happen, this should not be going on , please help us...I know people must be frightened but they can't leave this killer out there."It could be their son, their brother next time, because it will happen again."Rhys's father, Stephen, 44, said: "People are saying to me, 'wrong time, wrong place'. It shouldn't be a case of wrong time, wrong place. It shouldn't happen in this country. Somebody out there knows who's done it."Residents said shots were fired by a teenager who rode past the pub on a black BMX bike. The suspect is described as a slim white boy aged 13 to 15, around 5ft 8ins tall and wearing dark clothes, including a hoodie top with a peak, and white trainers.A 14-year-old boy and an 18-year-old youth arrested on suspicion of murdering the youngster have been released on police bail.In an emotional but dignified interview with the media, Mr and Mrs Jones said their football-mad son was too young to know about the world of guns and gangs.Mr Jones said: "The guy (Rhys) probably doesn't know what a gang is, he's never been in some sort of gang. He's got his mates, he's got the people who he hangs around with, he goes and plays football."Mrs Jones recalled finding Rhys in the pub car park but being unable to get any response from him as she waited for an ambulance.She said: "He was unconscious, he did not come around after that. He was just lying there in a pool of blood."They put him in an ambulance. They tried for an hour and a half to resuscitate him but his little body could not take it, he had just lost too much blood."Prime Minister Gordon Brown has described the killing as a "heinous crime" and pledged that those responsible would face justice.Many residents on the Croxteth Park Estate, which was formerly the biggest private housing estate in western Europe, spoke about living increasingly in the shadow of gun crime.One man, who was walking to the Fir Tree pub to join friends seconds after the shooting, hinted gang wars in the area may be a possible motive.Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said: "The important message today is that we have got to catch this person. Someone, somewhere will know about this. It's really important people speak to the police."She continued: "I'm absolutely concerned we stop this thing from happening. I think..it's important that we don't jump to any conclusions about what the reasons were."The priority has got to be that whoever it was, whatever the reasons, it was wrong and they have got to be caught."Everton Football Club will hold a minute's silence at their game against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday in tribute to the 11-year-old and players from both teams will wear black armbands.© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.
ITN | August 24, 2007
