BRITAIN:The parents of Rhys Jones, the 11-year-old British boy who was gunned down in a pub car park in Liverpool, in north west England, last week, yesterday appealed to their son's killer to give himself up. Melanie and Stephen Jones also urged the family of the boy, who fired three shots as he passed in front of the Fir Tree pub in Croxteth Park, Liverpool, on his BMX bike, to hand him over to the police.
Mrs Jones addressed her appeal directly to the killer: "Turn yourself in. How can you live with yourself?" she said. "You are not going to be able to live with yourself. It's going to be on your conscience for the rest of your life. Turn yourself in because they are going to find you anyway."
Merseyside police yesterday gave their biggest hint yet that the murder was directly related to a Croxteth gang war as officers revealed that Rhys may have been innocently caught in the crossfire in an ongoing feud across Liverpool's east side involving 72 thugs - 31 in the Croxteth Crew and 41 in The Strand Gang. Detectives said the ages of gang members ranged from 16 to 50.
Mrs Jones said her son, Owen, 17, was devastated by his brother's death, adding that she blamed the killer's parents for Rhys's murder. "What kind of people are they? What are the parents doing? They must know it's their kid. They must know what [ he is] up to - or don't they care? I blame the parents most of all."
Detectives investigating Rhys's murder have released the remaining six teenagers being held. Ten had been arrested since the shooting: a youth aged 14, two aged 15 and others aged 16, 18 and 19 have been released on police bail. Youths aged 15 and 19, and two girls aged 15 and 18, have been released without condition.
Yesterday police cordoned off a section of the main road near the Fir Tree that had previously been occupied by journalists and satellite vans. A squad of officers on their hands and knees then conducted a finger-tip search.
Earlier, a squad of Everton football club players led by their captain Phil Neville arrived by coach at the bus stop near which flowers have been placed in memory of Rhys. They laid a wreath in the shape of a football and some also left shirts and boots. "We are here today to pay our respects and appeal to anyone to come out and give information about the person who did this terrible thing," said Neville. -