Family of teen shot dead by gang hit by double tragedy within months

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The family of a murdered teenager were hit by two tragedies in the space of six months.

Ellis Cox was fatally shot by an unknown group close to Taskers, on the Liver Industrial Estate in Aintree, Liverpool at around 11.10pm on Sunday, June 23 this year, months after the death of his nan, Carol, reports the Liverpool Echo.

According to a police investigation, Ellis, who is not associated with any illegal activity, was not the target of the shooting, which might be tied to an existing dispute between the teenager's companions and a rival street gang. Police have arrested four people in connection with Ellis' murder, including a 17-year-old from West Derby and a 61-year-old from Huyton.

On the day Ellis was shot, he arrived at the home of his auntie, Julie O'Toole, and her husband, Kev. Ellis requested a bike because he and his friends intended to take the train to Southport and ride back on the Liverpool Loop Line, which runs near to their home. Julie was then woken up by her husband at 1am, and she realised he was on the phone with her sister Carolyn.

She said: "I was instantly thinking someone's knocked him off his bike. And then she said, there's something about him being shot. I can't even remember getting to the hospital, to be honest, I can't remember any of that.

"The only next thing I can remember after that is the policeman telling us that he'd passed away. My husband had to go and identify him. And that was the last thing I really remember about the hospital. I have two brothers. Apparently I told one of them and my sister's best friend about it. I can't remember any of that. It was horrendous.”

Ellis' family have worked tirelessly to encourage inspire others to come forward. Despite this, Julie claims that a lack of individuals coming forward with knowledge concerning his death is keeping his killers from being brought to justice.

She added: "It is frustrating and I don't know the reasons why. Maybe it's fear. I don't know, but we're not going to stop until obviously we find who took him from us, it’s as simple as that.”

Julie, Ellis' parents, other friends and relatives, and Merseyside Police officers will start on a leaflet mail drop tomorrow. The goal is to contact 10,000 households, as well as businesses and people out and about, in a massive plea for further information regarding the teenager's death. Participants will wear hoodies emblazoned with a photo of Ellis' face and the slogan 'silence is not an option'.

Speaking about the event, Julie said: “We're still appealing to witnesses, but we're really wanting to make sure that people understand that I'll get the message across that silence isn't an option because we know that there will be people out there who have heard, have seen, had a whisper, a rumour, whatever it might be.

“It's all to make sure that we keep Ellis’ appeal out there and make sure that we're supporting the police as much as we can because we know how hard they work. We want to do everything that we can to make sure that it stays relevant.

"Nothing will ever be the same and we're beyond devastated. It's the most horrendous time and we were already in a horrendous situation because we lost our mum. Ellis was so special and such an amazing, kind, good kid that there's no way in the world that we're going to let him down.”

If you have any information, you can visit Merseyside Police's dedicated web page to submit information or footage which can help in the investigation of Ellis’s murder: https://mipp.police.uk/operation/05MP23M53-PO1. You can also contact police via social media @MerPolCC or call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting reference 24000554719.

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