"You are the light of my life, you will never be gone," Elle Edwards' parents wrote in a note they left at her memorial.
Trigger Warning: The following article contains descriptions of gun violence which some readers may find distressing.
Ahead of Christmas and Boxing Day, Merseyside was shaken by a cold-blooded killing in which Elle Edwards, 26, was shot in the head by a gunman who opened fire in the Lighthouse Inn in Wallasey Village while she was celebrating the festive season with her sister and friends, per the Guardian.
In connection with the "cold-blooded shooting," two people have now been arrested, per a release by the Merseyside Police Department. A 30-year-old male from Tranmere and a 19-year-old lady from Rock Ferry in Birkenhead were arrested. The two suspects have been brought into custody and will be questioned by detectives, according to police.
“Fly high Elle - memory will live on”
— CapitalLivNews (@CapitalLivNews) December 27, 2022
Dozens of tributes lay outside The Lighthouse pub in Wallasey where Elle Edwards was shot and killed on Christmas Eve - Two people have been arrested by @MerseyPolice in connection #CapitalReports pic.twitter.com/j8u0U3CVWA
On Boxing Day, Edwards' family left flowers at the shooting scene, where forensic specialists were still working. The devastated family left a note at a memorial that read, “To my beautiful Elle. You are the light of my life, you will never be gone, mum, dad xxxxxx.”
“No family should have to be faced with this ordeal at any time but at Christmas, which should be a time of peace and celebration, it makes it so much harder to bear,” the detective inspector told reporters, per New York Post. According to one of her friends, when the gunfire began, people thought they heard fireworks. “But automatically everything just stopped and we had a feeling that something wasn’t right,” she said.
According to authorities, the beautician was not the intended target of the incident, in which four males were also shot. A 28-year-old man from neighboring Beechwood was in critical condition in the hospital, while the other injured persons, aged 22, 24, and 33 respectively, were not life-threatening.
Merseyside Police put out a statement saying, “Elle’s family are still having to come to terms with her tragic loss, and our specially trained family liaison officers are supporting them. We will not rest until we bring those responsible to justice and I would appeal to anyone who has information to contact us.”
Staff at the Nova Hair and Beauty Studio, where Edwards worked, remarked they were "absolutely lost for words" following her death. They said, offering condolences, “Heaven gained the most beautiful angel. We are all heartbroken, thinking of all of your family right now Elle.” Her friend and colleague, Britt Hughes, wrote on Facebook, paying tribute, “Christmas will never be the same again. Our gorgeous girl whose face made me so happy inside when she walked in the room, a girl who I couldn’t have been any more similar to. Shared so many amazing memories this summer with you and spoke to you non-stop, who am I gonna be in fits of laughter with on voice notes terrorising the world. You’ll be so missed my beautiful bestie.”
ARRESTS | Detectives have arrested two people in connection with the murder of 26-year-old Elle Edwards following the fatal shooting at the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village on Saturday 24 December.https://t.co/aDUpY1tLwb pic.twitter.com/r9WzcxtAJH
— Merseyside Police (@MerseyPolice) December 26, 2022
References:
https://nypost.com/2022/12/26/beautician-elle-edwards-26-killed-in-shooting-at-uk-pub/
Cover Image Source: Merseyside Police
