Ashley Dale: Two arrests after woman shot in garden

A man and a woman have been arrested following the fatal shooting of a woman at her home, who police said was not the intended target of the attack.

Ashley Dale, 28, was found wounded in her back garden in Old Swan, Liverpool, in the early hours of Sunday and died a short time later in hospital.

Merseyside Police said the man had been arrested on suspicion of murder, while the woman was being held on suspicion of assisting an offender.

They are being questioned by police.

The pair, from Liverpool, were arrested on Wednesday evening, officers said.

A force spokesman said the council worker was found with gunshot wounds in the garden of her house in Leinster Road at about 00:40 BST.

Ms Dale was the half-sister of 16-year-old Lewis Dunne, who was shot dead in a case of mistaken identity in Liverpool in 2015.

In a statement, her family said Ms Dale had "so many plans for her bright future that had only just begun", adding that her "laugh, smile and energy was infectious in any room".

A cordon remains in the area while investigations and forensic examinations continue.

The force previously released footage of a car being driven into Leinster Road about 10 minutes before the shooting.

Det Ch Insp Cath Cummings said people were in the area at the time of the shooting who may hold information and urged them to come forward.

"Similarly, I would ask taxi and delivery drivers if they were driving in the area between 12:20 and 12:40 and have dashcam footage please contact us," she said.

"This was a callous attack carried out on a residential street which has brought tragedy to the heart of a community in Merseyside, and we will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to bring those responsible to justice."

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