Footballer shot in fourth incident in a week
Two shootings involving high profile young people took place over the weekend, sparking concern that gun crime in the UK is now out of control.
Liverpool defender, Jon Otsemobor, was one of three men shot while on a night out, police revealed.
Otsemobor, 20, from Speke, was shot in the buttocks as he sat drinking with friends on Sunday morning.
The player has been capped for England Under 21s and played in the Liverpool first team once.
An 18-year-old man from Garston was also shot in the hand and thigh and a 24-year-old man from Aigburth was shot in the leg.
The incident was the fourth shooting in the UK in the last week.
Three men were also fired at with a shotgun from a Volvo-type car in Reading on Friday evening. Thames Valley Police said it is not known if the shootings were drug-related.
However, the incident occurred near Reading’s Oxford Road, in the notorious Elm Park area, which is known for serious problems with drugs and prostitution.
One of the men injured in the drive-by shooting is the brother of one of the members of Mobo award-winning group Big Brovaz.
DJ Andre Shepherd is the brother of rapper Nadia Shepherd, whose group recently won Best Newcomer at the Mobo Awards.
Mr Shepherd was released from hospital shortly after the shooting, but one man remains in a serious condition after surgery for facial injuries.
Mr Shepherd’s mother, Margaret, told a newspaper: ‘None of us know why this happened to him.’
Known criminal David King, 32, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire. Police have recovered a second vehicle used by the gunmen.
Jeweller Marian Bates was shot at point blank range in her shop in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, on Tuesday. The 64-year-old jumped in front of her daughter Xanthe when a robber pulled a handgun.
Gun crime has almost doubled to 22,000 incidents since 1991. Shadow Home Secretary Oliver Letwin commented, ‘One might have thought this was Baghdad. In fact, it’s Blair’s Britain.’
