Gunman shot ‘devoted’ father as he waited for daughter
Police are still hoping to find the gunman responsible for a brutal shooting on the outskirts of Liverpool city centre.
Father-of-six James Taylor, 34, was sitting in his Mercedes Vito waiting for his daughter to be discharged from the Marybone Youth and Community Association when a gunman approached him.
Mr Taylor was shot “several times” by a gunman with a handgun at very close range and died at the scene.
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The shooting, around 8 p.m. on February 7, 2019, remains unclear.
Locals described scenes, too harrowing to publish, to ECHO as people gathered around the Liverpool FC fan’s car moments after the shooting.
Mr Taylor’s family described him as a devoted family man “who died doing what he did best, being a devoted father”.
(Image: Merseyside Police)
Last year, Detective Chief Inspector Rachel Wilson said police believed the killer had left the scene in a black Ford Fiesta which was found burnt out 15 minutes later at Summer Seat, Vauxhall.
DCI Wilson also said officers were keen to locate a white Ford Transit van seen leaving Freemasons Row shortly after the murder.
DCI Wilson said the force also wanted to find the drivers of a blue cab, a gray colored Audi A3 “Black Edition” and a dark colored Land Rover. The vehicles were all spotted in the area on the day of the murder, and the drivers may have “vital information” about the crime.
Last year, an inquest into Mr Taylor’s death heard Merseyside Police had made 17 arrests in connection with the shooting, but there was insufficient evidence to charge.
Liverpool and Wirral Senior Coroner Andre Rebello concluded Mr Taylor had been ‘unlawfully killed’ and urged those who may have vital information to come forward.
He said: ‘Society needs someone pulled from circulation for orphaning children, widowing a woman and making a mother see her son die before her.’
Contact via @MerPolCC, by calling 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or report online at https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously with the crime reference 19100038615.
You can also leave information via the UK Police Major Incident Public Reporting site – www.mipp.police.uk – by clicking on the Merseyside Police badge.
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