After five people lost their lives to gun crime on Merseyside in 2022, we are taking a closer look at the issue to see how police are tackling it. 26-year-old Elle Edwards was killed on Christmas Eve last year. An innocent bystander, the beautician was shot in the head at the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village.
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00:00 I think they're the lowest of the low and they deserve a bit nigger.
00:06 Christmas Eve, whatever your tradition is, the night before Christmas is often filled
00:11 with excitement, anticipation, friends and family.
00:14 However, on the 24th of December 2022, just after 11.50pm, Connor Chapman fired a gun
00:21 multiple times outside a pub in Wallasey Village, killing Ellie Edwards and injuring five other
00:28 men.
00:29 What world are we living in where in someone's mind on Christmas Eve they think that it's
00:39 justifiable for them to turn up at a pub with a machine gun and fire it into a pub full
00:45 of kids, youngsters.
00:47 Where does that come from?
00:51 I can't work out who in their right mind thinks that that's okay.
00:58 And that's just, I can't work that out.
01:02 I think they're the lowest of the low and they deserve a bit nigger.
01:06 22-year-old Chapman was involved in an ongoing series of disputes between two rival gangs
01:11 from the Wood Church and Ford Estate on Whitroll.
01:14 The 26-year-old beautician, who was an innocent bystander in the feud-fuelled shooting, was
01:21 hit twice in the head and once in the shoulder.
01:25 Maesai police immediately launched a murder investigation whilst Ellie's family released
01:29 a tribute to her.
01:32 In it they said, "There was no one as beautiful as our Ellie May.
01:37 Her looks, her laugh and the way she would light up a room as soon as she walked in.
01:42 She had this way about her that as soon as you met her you just instantly fell in love
01:47 with her.
01:48 Everyone that met Ellie knew how special she was.
01:52 Her laugh was infectious, anyone who was around her had a good time.
01:56 She loved her life and had so many amazing plans for the future.
02:01 She was only just getting started.
02:04 Christmas and our family will never be the same again without her.
02:07 She was the glue that held this big family together from all of us."
02:12 2022 was punctured by a number of high-profile murders on Merseyside involving guns.
02:19 In August, the murder of Sam Rimmer, Ashley Dale and Olivia Pratt-Corbell all took place
02:25 within the space of one week.
02:28 Whilst Maesai police say the number of firearms discharges have dropped significantly in the
02:33 past decade, however one discharge is one too many.
02:39 We are committed to finding the persons responsible for Ellie's death and putting them behind
02:45 bars.
02:47 These people don't deserve to be walking our streets, they don't deserve to be protected,
02:53 they belong in prison.
02:56 Guns have no place on the streets of Merseyside and we're dedicated to getting weapons off
03:02 the streets.
03:04 So my advice to you is to put that gun and that knife down, don't even think about picking
03:11 it up.
03:12 Ellie Edwards was by all accounts a beautiful, kind, happy 26-year-old who was enjoying the
03:18 Christmas festivities when her life was callously cut short.
03:23 Ellie was out with friends at the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey on Christmas Eve.
03:27 Her brother Connor said she'd been there the previous year and had such a good time that
03:33 she wanted to return.
03:35 Ellie was socialising with a group outside the pub's entrance and amongst that group
03:40 were Kieran Solkeld and Jake Duffy who were the intended targets of the shooting.
03:46 Connor Chapman was involved in an ongoing series of disputes between two rival gangs
03:51 from the Woodchurch estate which Chapman was associated with and Ford Estate on Wirral.
03:58 Before the shooting, Connor Chapman was driving a stolen Mercedes with false number plates
04:03 and he was parked in the pub car park for almost an hour.
04:07 At 11.52pm he got out of the vehicle and walked along the side of the building where he then
04:13 opened fire at the group using a Scorpion sub-machine gun.
04:18 You pick that gun up or that knife and leave your house or wherever you are and you go
04:24 out into the street and you have that gun or that knife in your pocket, your life is
04:29 over.
04:31 It's over.
04:32 It's as simple as that because you pull that trigger or put that knife into someone and
04:36 you kill them.
04:38 You have ended one, your own life.
04:40 You've ended the life of the person in front of you who's the victim.
04:44 You've ended the life of their family.
04:47 You've ended the life of your family.
04:50 And the effect that that has on the whole community in a wider circle just keeps going
04:58 and there's nothing good going to come out of it.
05:01 Following the shooting, Chapman drove to his friend Thomas Waring's home where he disposed
05:07 of the gun which has still not been uncovered.
05:10 Six days after the shooting, the solar Mercedes was burnt out in a remote area of Frodsham.
05:15 After hearing police wanted to question him over a serious matter, Connor Chapman fled
05:20 to North Wales.
05:21 Seventeen days after carrying out the attack, Chapman was arrested at a Tesco in an operation
05:27 involving plainclothes officers.
05:31 Connor Chapman has shown no remorse for his actions at all from the time of the murder.
05:36 And this is shown when he fled to Wales having been asked to hand himself into police, during
05:41 his interviews and even during trial.
05:45 He deprived a young woman of a future and in the words of her father, just as her life
05:49 was cut short, she was reaching the peak and was the happiest that he had ever seen her.
05:54 During the investigation, detectives trolled through more than 1,400 hours of CCTV evidence,
05:59 over 300 sets of communication data were applied for and reviewed, 37 searches were carried
06:05 out and 30 crime scenes were examined.
06:10 We've got justice for Ellie now, thanks to the police.
06:15 On Thursday 6th July 2023, Connor Chapman was found guilty of the murder of Ellie Edwards.
06:22 Following a 16 day trial at Liverpool Crown Court, Chapman 23 was also found guilty of
06:27 attempted murder, wounding with intent to cause GBH and possession of a firearm and
06:32 ammunition with intent to endanger life.
06:35 He previously pled guilty to one count of handling stolen goods in relation to the Mercedes
06:39 car used on the night of the shooting.
06:43 Thomas Waring, 20, was found guilty of possession of a prohibited weapon and assisting an offender
06:49 in relation to the murder.
06:52 First and foremost, I would like to thank Ellie's family for the dignity that they
06:56 have demonstrated right throughout the trial and the investigation process.
07:02 The tragic loss of Ellie on Christmas Eve last year is something that no family should
07:06 have to face and during the trial they've been taken back to that devastating time when
07:12 their world fell apart.
07:15 They've had to relive what happened all over again by seeing footage of Ellie being shot
07:20 and hearing accounts provided by those who have been at the lighthouse and I have no
07:24 doubt that that will have been horrific for them all.
07:29 The results of that will never bring Ellie back and I know that this will live with them
07:33 for the rest of their lives.
07:36 But I hope that the conviction of Chapman will bring them some small comfort.
07:40 Connor Chapman was handed a life sentence to serve a minimum of 48 years.
07:45 Chapman was jailed for 22 years for the murder and attempted murders of Ellie, Ciaran and
07:50 Jake, seven years for wounding, 18 months for assault, 15 years for possession of a
07:56 firearm and three years for stolen property.
07:58 The sentence will run concurrently totalling to 48 years.
08:02 His accomplice Thomas Waring was jailed for nine years for possession of a prohibited
08:06 weapon and assisting an offender.
08:09 Without the police doing what they've done, we would still be waiting to try and catch
08:14 the killer of Ellie and that's a position I wish no one would be in because at least
08:20 now we have something to aim our anger at and that's it.
08:30 In passing sentence High Court Judge Justice Goose said "What you did, Connor Chapman,
08:36 was as wicked as it was shocking.
08:39 You murdered Ellie, bringing an end to her life and caused serious injury and wounded
08:44 others.
08:45 It's utterly shocking you carefully planned a revenge attack in a gang rivalry.
08:51 You had no thought for anyone else.
08:54 The risks of what you did were as high as they were obvious."
08:57 I sincerely hope that today's verdict will deter others from using guns on our streets.
09:04 We need a turning point.
09:07 In 2007 the murder of Rhys Jones should have been that defining moment for those who were
09:12 prepared to use guns on our streets.
09:16 How can somebody think that that is okay?
09:20 The murder of Ellie Edwards sent shockwaves throughout Mareseaside.
09:24 For many it was the first news we woke up to on Christmas Day.
09:29 I remember waking up on Christmas Day and reporting on the story and as I was sat there
09:35 writing it I was just thinking of all the people who were at home with their families
09:40 on that day and how Ellie Edwards' family would be sat there having been given the news
09:47 that their daughter had just been shot dead and it that kind of really struck me because
09:54 there's something about when everyone's together with their family it kind of you look around
09:59 the room you see the faces of your family and you think wow you know because she was
10:04 a completely innocent bystander that could have been anyone that could have been anyone
10:08 in this room and I think that kind of struck a chord with everyone.
10:13 Com Chapman was targeting two people from a rival gang and he'd pre-planned and plotted
10:20 this attack on Christmas Eve outside a packed pub where there was hundreds of innocent bystanders.
10:27 Mareseaside Police and its partners have been working together to develop a new approach
10:31 to crime prevention.
10:33 In November 2022 Chief Constable of Mareseide Police Serena Kennedy spoke to us about how
10:39 the force is making it a priority to address the root causes of harm in our communities.
10:46 It will always be a priority for my staff to use their powers to arrest people to put
10:50 them through the criminal justice system where it's appropriate but if we don't start to
10:55 focus on prevention get upstream of the demand before people even become victims before people
11:01 become offenders we are never going to arrest away out of this problem.
11:07 Mareseaside Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell has been vocal about needing
11:11 the community's support in ending the no grass culture especially when it comes to gun crime.
11:18 There are anonymous ways you can help your own communities and in doing so you could
11:23 play a vital role in preventing further tragedies.
11:27 In circumstances such as a murder or if there's you know in your community there's something
11:34 that's not right then you need to do something about it.
11:44 It's for you to decide who to approach but be known that there are avenues for you to
11:52 go down.
11:54 You can approach people and organisations and it's not about being a grass it's about
11:59 wanting a better life for your kids because ultimately that's who's going to suffer.
12:04 Despite Mareseaside experiencing its lowest rate of firearms discharges for more than
12:08 two decades the region's police force has admitted it still has a way to go to improve.
12:14 One life taken by gun crime in this city is one too many.