Man arrested and suspected firearm seized in Bootle

We can confirm a man has been arrested and a suspected firearm seized following an incident in Bootle yesterday, Sunday 29 October.

At around 7.30am it was reported that a man had a suspected sawn-off shotgun in his vehicle at a car boot sale on Balliol Road East.

Officers attended and the weapon was seized and will now be examined to establish if it is a viable firearm.

A 33-year-old man from Liverpool was arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm without a certificate. He has been bailed pending further enquiries.

Detective Inspector John Mullen said: “Our streets are made safer with every weapon we take out of circulation and every arrest we make in relation to firearms.

“We are committed to taking weapons off our streets and, rest assured, if you tell us about any suspected possession or offences, we will take it extremely seriously.

“We will always take immediate action to all incidents involving guns and we are actively working to make Merseyside a safer place to live and work.

“The gun in this incident has now been forensically recovered and will now be examined to establish if it is a viable weapon.

“Guns have no place on the streets of Merseyside, and we will do everything in our powers to seize them and put the people who supply or carry them before the courts.

“I would continue to ask the public to be our eyes and ears and tell us who is carrying these weapons and where are they being stored or hidden.

“It is vital that members of our communities come forward with information so we can make our communities safer for the decent, law abiding people who live in areas affected by gun crime.”

If you have any information about the suspected storage, possession and use of firearms and ammunition, please contact us directly via @MerPolCC on Twitter, 'Merseyside Police Contact Centre' on Facebook, 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. Always call 999 if a crime is in progress.