Nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel was fatally shot and killed on August 22, 2022, when a shooter barged into her home in Liverpool, in what is believed to have been a hit related to organized crime. The little girl attended St Margaret Mary’s School and lived with her mother Cheryl on Kingsheath Avenue.
On the night of the tragedy, CCTV footages shows two men walking along Kingsheath Avenue near Olivia’s home. A man wearing a black padded jacket, a black balaclava with a peak, dark leggings, and black gloves approached the pair, who immediately ran away.
Hearing the noise, Cheryl, Olivia’s mum, opening the door to find out what was going on. One of the men fleeing the shooter noticed the front door opening and raced into the house for cover. Cheryl tried to close the door, but the shooter fired through the opening in the doorway, hitting Olivia in the chest and Cheryl in the wrist.
The little girl was rushed to hospital, but her injuries were too severe, and they were not able to save her.
Murder and Mayhem in Liverpool
The death of Olivia Pratt-Korbel was tragic, but it was not the only killing linked to organized crime activity in Liverpool that week. Another three people were killed in Merseyside in the space of a few days.
Sam Rimmer, 22, was shot on August 16 in Dingle, while Ashley Dale, 28, was shot in the early morning hours of August 21 in the backyard of her Old Swan residence. The next day, Karen Dempsey, 55, passed away in the hospital after being stabbed in a Kirkby pub parking lot.
Organized crime is “blighting the lives of decent, law-abiding members of the community.”
Det Ch Supt Mark Kameen
Operation Miller – Crackdown on Organized Crime
Following Olivia Pratt-tragic Korbel’s shooting, police in Liverpool ramped up Operation Miller, an ongoing police operation focusing on organized crime activity in Liverpool. 30 arrests were made within 24 hours of the killing of the little girl, bringing the total number of arrests to 202.
The government announced an increase of £500,000 to increase policing in the area and to provide counselling and support to victims of organized crime in the locality.
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