The video has come to light following an investigation into a number of escalating incidents in the Toxteth area
04:00, 28 Jun 2026Updated 07:53, 28 Jun 2026
Man points gun and rides off on Pomfret Street Toxteth
The chilling moment an electric bike-riding gunman clad in a balaclava aims a handgun at a bystander can be revealed. The footage, shared exclusively with the ECHO as part of an investigation into the spike of firearm incidents in Toxteth, shows the moment the gunman appears to be lying in wait behind a row of wheelie bins.
The person recording the video shines a light at the gunman, who rears his head. He then appears to point a firearm at the person recording before ducking below the bins again. The gunman appears again before cocking the gun, believed to be a handgun, and taking aim at the person filming as they duck behind a bush.
The gunman then lowers the weapon, shows his middle finger to the camera while wearing bright orange gloves and rides off from the scene. The video is believed to have been filmed in July last year and the ECHO has verified the incident took place where Pomfret Street meets Arnold Crescent.
Detective Inspector Chris Clark, from Merseyside Police’s firearms investigation team, said: “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.
“To possess a firearm on our streets is a criminal offence, whether it is a genuine or an imitation weapon, and whether it is fired, used to make threats, or carried for a stunt or other purposes. Please be assured that we will act on all information received to identify those who store, supply, carry and discharge firearms in our communities.”
The staggering footage came to light following a week-long investigation into the spate of shootings the area has faced over the last 12 months, with tensions boiling following two shootings this month.
The moment a gunman takes aim at a bystander in Toxteth
Merseyside Police said detectives were “keeping an open mind” as to whether the incidents were linked. But crime sources have told the ECHO that the escalation in violence in recent months is as a result of two gangs engaged in a “turf war”.
The ECHO understands the two street-level drug dealing gangs are centred on opposing sides of Princes Road, with one operating around the Lodge Lane area and the other based around the warren of roads in the vicinity of Berkley Street.
One 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.”
A map showing violent incidents in the Toxteth area from June 2025 to June 2026
Street gangs previously hid their illicit activities under a cloak of darkness, but last week saw their criminality drawn out into the open following a daylight shooting on Lodge Lane. Armed police rushed to the scene following reports a man in his 20s had been chased down and shot on June 19.
Emergency services surrounded Bala B’s Soul Food Kitchen before cordoning it off as officers found firearm casings on the floor of the premises. The victim has since been discharged from hospital, but it is the latest in a list of incidents to take place in the area.
Just weeks before, on June 3, a 19-year-old man was shot in the arm outside the African Caribbean Centre on Amberley Street before fleeing down Selborne Street and collapsing on the corner of Carlingford Close.
Detectives believe the gunman was dressed in black and riding an electric bike when the shooting unfolded. A 16-year-old boy from Liverpool has since been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. He was conditionally bailed this week.
The escalation in violence can be traced back as far as summer into autumn 2025, following two incidents around the Kingsley Road area. On June 12 of last year over half a dozen shots were fired and an innocent man’s parked car was peppered by a stray shot.
And on October 5 more shots were fired from inside a car chasing a man on a bike down Seaport Street. The chilling reality of how close an innocent person came to being caught in the crossfire was accentuated when a bullet pierced through the front window of a family home on Kingsley Road.
Forensics at the scene of an incident on Lodge Lane on June 19(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
In recent days investigators have made earlier steps in response to the two recent shootings. On Tuesday this week officers confirmed a 16-year-old boy had been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with the African Caribbean Centre. The teenager has been bailed while investigations continue.
And on Friday officers confirmed a 19-year-old man had been held on suspicion of attempted murder following the Lodge Lane attack. He too has been conditionally bailed pending further enquiries. This week officers also carried out a warrant on Lodge Lane following information supplied by a member of the public and seized phones and drugs.
South Liverpool Chief Inspector Hamish Rawcliffe told the ECHO: “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.”