Witnesses reported hearing three bangs before people arrived at the scene
Armed police descended on Lodge Lane following the shooting on Friday(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Three bangs were heard as a man was shot inside a café on Friday evening. Police were called to Bala Bs Soul Food Kitchen on Lodge Lane at around 5pm on June 19 to reports of a shooting.
In a statement, Merseyside Police said armed officers were called to the premises following reports of the shooting before closing Lodge Lane between Bentley Road and Seacole Close.
One woman who works nearby told the ECHO how she heard three bangs ring out before armed police descended on the main road.
She said: “I didn’t see anything, I was upstairs, but we heard three bangs and then all the police arrived.”
It’s believed the victim, thought to be a man in his 20s, had been chased along the road and into the café before he was shot. It was inside the cafe police found several gun casings.
Initially, Merseyside Police said nobody had been hurt in the shooting before later confirming a man had suffered non-life threatening injuries.
The shooting is the second in the area this month.
One man said: “It is ridiculous what is happening now. There is going to be retaliation for this, it’s not safe.
“I’ve been here for 10 years and it’s just getting worse.”
Merseyside Police outside Bala Bs on Lodge Lane following a shooting inside the cafe on Friday, June 19
When the ECHO attended the scene on Saturday morning, two Matrix vans, a patrol car and an unmarked police car sat outside the cordoned off café. Officers were seen working inside the building while detectives made door-to-door enquiries.
A section 60 order is now in place in the area following the shooting along with an increased police presence.
This gives officers extra stop and search powers in the area which includes Upper Parliament Street, Smithdown Road, Greenbank Road, North Mossley Hill Road, Queens Drive, Aigburth Vale, Carnatic Road, Victoria Road, Ashfield Road, Aigburth Road, Park Road, Park Place and St James Place.
Friday’s shooting follows a previous incident on Wednesday June 3, when a man was shot in the arm outside the Merseyside Caribbean Council Community Centre on Amberley Street.
The ECHO recently reported how the victim is not cooperating with police and detectives believe the gunman in that incident was on an electric bike and dressed in black.
A section 60 order is in place covering Upper Parliament Street, Smithdown Road, Greenbank Road, North Mossley Hill Road, Queens Drive, Aigburth Vale, Carnatic Road, Victoria Road, Ashfield Road, Aigburth Road, Park Road, Park Place and St James Place(Image: Merseyside Police)
Speaking after the shooting on Lodge Lane, Detective Chief Inspector Alan Nuttall said: “Firing a gun inside a café was a dangerous and reckless act of violence where many more people could have been hurt and led to more tragic circumstances.
“The investigation is in the very early stages as we continue to establish what has taken place. The shooting took place at a busy time of day with lots of people in the vicinity, so I am appealing to those who we haven’t already spoken to, please get in touch.
“I also urge people in the area to please check your CCTV, dashcam devices or doorbell footage to see if it has captured anything or anyone suspicious which will help with our enquiries. Any information you provide, however, insignificant it may seem, could be vital to our investigation.
“We know that guns cause misery on our streets and we would ask for the public’s help in coming forward with any information they have so we can find the person or people responsible.
“Merseyside Police is committed to removing firearms from our streets and bringing those who carry or use them to justice and we would ask our communities to help us by coming forward and telling us what they know.”
A spokesperson for the force said: “Anyone who has information which can assist officers in finding anyone responsible can contact Merseyside Police’s social media desk via X or Facebook @MerPolCC quoting incident number 809 of Friday, June 19.
“You can also report information via the website https://www.merseyside.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/ or by calling 101. Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their website here: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously.”