Community vigil for Rhys Jones
Rhys Jones' funeral will be held on Thursday
Sunday, 02, Sep 2007 08:19
A community vigil in memory of 11-year-old Rhys Jones, who was shot dead by a gunman on a bicycle, was held in Liverpool earlier today.
The service paid tribute to Rhys and other victims of gun crime and was used to ask the public to come forward with information about the incident that took place on August 22nd.
Rhys' parents Melanie and Stephen, and his brother Owen, lit a candle at Croxteth country park during the vigil, which was widely attended.
A friend of the 11-year-old, Lewis Ainscough, led a prayer in honour of the fan of Everton football club.
"We don't often think about people dying, especially when they are very young, so this has been a great shock to us," the BBC quoted him as saying.
The bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Rev James Jones and Lord Mayor of the city Paul Clark also attended the ceremony today.
Yesterday, detectives investigating the murder of Rhys renewed appeals for two key witnesses to come forward.
Merseyside police said they were keen to get in touch with a caller to Crimestoppers on Friday August 24th who said he saw a man talking on a mobile phone and another man who contacted police directly at 11:20 BST the following night.
Reports claim that residents of Croxteth, the Liverpool area where Rhys was shot after playing football with his friends, have begun to openly name the individual suspected of killing the avid Everton fan.
Claims that the alleged gunman's name is appearing in graffiti near where Rhys was killed come after police bailed four male suspects arrested yesterday in connection with the schoolboys' killing.
This means that of the 16 people arrested over his murder, 11 have been bailed and five have been released without charged.
Commenting on the police investigation, the senior officer on the case, Acting Detective Superintendent Dave Kelly, said: "People are aware that we have described one individual firing a gun but as with any offence, there are various stages and elements to it, including where the gun came from and what happened afterwards.
"When we have grounds to suspect people involved in any stage, they will be arrested in connection with this offence."
He continued: "At this stage we are looking at a number of motives, but the strongest line of inquiry is that Rhys was the accidental victim of a targeted attack against others.
"We also can't rule out that this situation involved local opposing factions."
The 11-year-old's funeral is due to be held at Liverpool's Anglican cathedral on Thursday, with his family encouraging mourners to wear football shirts and bright colours.