A disturbing video has emerged showing a balaclava-clad gunman on an electric bike aiming a handgun at a bystander in Toxteth, Liverpool. The footage, obtained by the Liverpool ECHO as part of an investigation into rising firearm incidents, captures the suspect hiding behind wheelie bins on Pomfret Street near Arnold Crescent. The person filming shines a light, prompting the gunman to point a firearm at them before ducking. He then cocks the weapon, takes aim, lowers it, flips his middle finger while wearing bright orange gloves, and rides away. The incident is believed to have occurred in July 2025, though it was not reported until November 2025.
Police Investigation and Turf War Context
Detective Inspector Chris Clark of Merseyside Police's firearms investigation team stated: "This incident is believed to have taken place in the Arnold Crescent area last July, although it was not reported to us until November. Nonetheless, the incident was investigated and filed pending further evidence coming forward. We understand the concern that this will have caused, so if you did witness this at the time and did not come forward then, please do so." He added that possessing a firearm on the streets is a criminal offence, whether genuine or imitation, and urged the public to provide information.
Crime sources told the ECHO that the escalation in violence stems from a turf war between two street-level drug dealing gangs. These gangs are centered on opposite sides of Princes Road: one operating around Lodge Lane and the other around Berkley Street. A source with knowledge of the dispute said: "This is all happening because the head honchos have been taken out and the younger generation have lost control. It's just getting out of control. There is that real feeling that things are getting worse. The police did their job [by arresting and jailing more senior members of the gangs] but in some ways it has made things worse. They can't win. It has left the younger generation to go off the rails."
Recent Shootings and Arrests
On June 19, 2026, a daylight shooting occurred on Lodge Lane, where a man in his 20s was chased and shot. Armed police responded, finding firearm casings at Bala B's Soul Food Kitchen. The victim was discharged from hospital. Just weeks earlier, on June 3, a 19-year-old man was shot in the arm outside the African Caribbean Centre on Amberley Street. He fled down Selborne Street and collapsed on Carlingford Close. Detectives believe the gunman was dressed in black and riding an electric bike. A 16-year-old boy from Liverpool was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and conditionally bailed.
Further incidents trace back to summer and autumn 2025. On June 12, 2025, over half a dozen shots were fired on Kingsley Road, with a stray bullet hitting a parked car. On October 5, 2025, shots were fired from a car chasing a man on a bike down Seaport Street, and a bullet pierced the front window of a family home on Kingsley Road.
Police Response and Community Impact
In response to the recent shootings, officers arrested a 16-year-old in connection with the African Caribbean Centre incident and a 19-year-old in connection with the Lodge Lane attack; both were conditionally bailed. A warrant on Lodge Lane led to the seizure of phones and drugs. South Liverpool Chief Inspector Hamish Rawcliffe said: "We understand the impact that incidents involving weapons, whether firearms or knives, can have on a community. They can leave people feeling scared, concerned and anxious about going about their daily business. That is why we take such incidents extremely seriously. Our colleagues in investigations continue their enquiries, with arrests made in relation to both shootings earlier this month, and a man charged in relation to the discharge in Kingsley Road in October. We continue to keep an open mind about the motives for this month's incidents, but we are treating them as targeted."
