Merseyside Police say they will increase armed patrols in Liverpool after a 45-year-old man was killed and 11-year-old boy injured in a shooting.

Tony Lawlor was shot dead in front of his mother after taking her to shops in Middlemass Hey, in the Netherley district of the city at 1830 BST on Thursday.

The boy - who was not linked to Mr Lawlor - was hit in the leg by a stray bullet, and was said to be in a stable condition on Friday following surgery.

The murder of Mr Lawlor comes just five months after his younger brother, Stephen, was shot dead.

Murder links

Acting Assistant Chief Constable Mike Langdon said he believed the shooting was related to the killing of Mr Lawlor's brother, and to the murder of another man in a separate incident.

Mr Langdon said: "Yesterday's reckless shooting opened a whole new dimension where a totally innocent 11-year-old, minding his own business, can be put at risk by the acts of deliberate, organised criminals.

"For our part the public will see an enhanced presence of armed response vehicles throughout the city, focused particularly on areas we have recently seen to be vulnerable.

Mr Langdon denied Liverpool was heading back to the "gun law" days of May 1995, which saw a spate of shootings after the murder of local businessman David Ungi.

He said: "We're resolved to making sure that situation doesn't occur. Since that time we have invested very heavily in a major crime unit, in intelligence gathering and in armed response vehicles.

"We're recognised nationally as being at the cutting edge of serious crime investigation. We are absolutely determined that reckless acts of the nature we saw last night do not reoccur."

Four suspects

Detective Superintendent Mike Semple said the injured boy, who has not been named, was in a stable condition but that he and his mother were "extremely distressed".

He also told how Mr Lawler's mother, Mary, chased the gunman as he pursued her son over wasteland and tried to fend him off by lashing out with a bag of shopping.

Detectives say at least four suspects, described by witnesses as well built, were seen getting out of a blue van before Mr Lawlor was shot.

The gunman was believed to have been dressed in black.

The four escaped in the van which was later found burned out at the junction of Winhill and Woolton Park.