CCTV captures Cashman brazenly firing shots on Liverpool street before murdering schoolgirl

• Video report by Granada Reports correspondent Andy Bonner

CCTV has captured the moment a gunman “hell-bent” on murder brazenly fired shots in a “ruthless pursuit” of his intended victim - before going on to kill a nine-year-old girl.

Thomas Cashman, 34, was prevented from killing target Joseph Nee after his gun jammed as he fired it on the streets of Dovecot in Liverpool.

After switching to a back-up weapon, he continued chasing Nee, following him to the home of Olivia Pratt-Korbel.

As Olivia’s mother Cheryl opened the door to see what was going on, Cashman opened fire twice more, hitting her in the hand and the schoolgirl in the centre of her chest, killing her almost instantly.

The second bullet was found lodged in the door.

• Newly released CCTV shows Cashman firing shots at target Joseph Nee before going on to kill Olivia Pratt-Korbel

After a three-and-a-half week trial, Cashman has been found guilty of murdering Olivia, the attempted murder of Joseph Nee, and wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm to Ms Korbel.

Releasing the CCTV which helped track Cashman down, Serena Kennedy, Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, called him a “despicable coward” who was “intent on settling a petty dispute”.

She said: “He decided to play out a petty dispute using guns on the streets of Merseyside in the community of Dovecot and that's had a devastating impact for Olivia's family which they will live with for the rest of their lives, every waking moment and every moment they go to sleep. 

“He is a despicable coward.

“I hope he reflects every morning when he wakes up behind bars and every night when he goes to sleep about what he's put Olivia's family through.

“Anybody who does that, they do not think about the consequences. 

“They don't care about anybody who lives in their communities. He was just intent on settling a petty dispute. 

“The consequences for Olivia's family are devastating.”

Detective Superintendent Mark Baker, Senior Investigating Officer at Merseyside Police, said: "We may never know the reason why he did what he did.

"But his actions on the night and afterwards were abhorrent.

"He went out that night armed with two guns intent on killing Joseph Nee. he was determined nothing would get in his way. He had absolutely no regard for anyone else.

"In his police interviews he showed no remorse for his actions. He deprived a nine-year-old child of her future with her family who will never be able to watch her grow up.

"When we found out that he had shot an innocent young girl he should have had the courage to stand up and come forward.

"Instead he chose to lie low despite the fact that he was a dad himself. He is not worthy of walking the streets of Merseyside."

• Newly released footage of Thomas Cashman's arrest by Merseyside Police

Following Olivia’s murder, the community provided police with the information they needed to arrest Cashman in a volume officers say they have “never seen before”.

Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Kameen said: “That is the act of somebody who is calculated, professional, hellbent on carrying out his task, which was to murder Joseph Nee.

“The information which came forward from our communities was fantastic in a volume we've never seen before.

“There was a real appetite, passion, hunger to make sure the person responsible, Thomas Cashman, was caught, that the evidence was found to charge him, and that he was ultimately convicted.

“They recognised the horror, the mindlessness, the tragedy that we saw played out on our streets. 

“They recognised this was a step too far and wanted to engage with us.”

After his arrest, police say even more information came in from those previously too scared to speak out.

Police watched hundreds of security videos of Cashman scoping out his intended target, where specialist officers were able to pick out and match his tracksuit bottoms.

But it was the evidence of a key witness who, officers say, was “pivotal” to the case.

The woman, who cannot be named, told the jury Cashman went to her house after the shooting saying he had “done Joey”.

He also changed his clothes, with items he was given in return from the witness, found at Cashman’s sister's house.

Maria Corr, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS Mersey-Cheshire's Complex Casework Unit, said: “It shocked a whole nation. The murder of a little child in her home. 

“People who are brave enough to come forward can make a difference. 

“It's just so important for the community to stand behind Olivia and all her family and everyone who loved her. 

“This has touched everyone's heart really.”