Woman dies in Blackburn shooting as murder squad launch manhunt to find killer

A murder investigation is under way and detectives have launched a manhunt following the death of the 19-year-old.

Police were called to King Street, in Blackburn, just after 3pm on Sunday (May 17) after reports of gunshots in the area.

The victim was found unresponsive and taken to hospital but died a short time later. Police have not formally identified her but say her family has been informed.

While a post mortem is yet to take place, it is believed the cause of death was a gunshot wound, a Lancashire Police spokesman confirmed.

The murder investigation now centres on a car spotted leaving the scene of the shooting, while armed officers have been deployed to patrol the streets.

A vehicle matching its description - light-coloured, possibly metallic green, Toyota Avensis - was found abandoned on Wellington Road, a short distance away.

In an urgent appeal to the public for information, Det Supt Jonathan Holmes, of the Force Major Investigation Team, said: “This is a truly shocking and senseless killing, which has robbed a young woman of her life.

“Although the victim has yet to be formally identified, we believe she was a young woman from the local area. Her family have now been informed of her death and they are understandably utterly, utterly distraught. Our thoughts are very much with them, and her wider family and friends, at this awful time.

“An investigation has been launched and we are determined to find those responsible – and we are asking for the public’s help identifying the offender or offenders.

“We believe a light-coloured Toyota Avensis – possibly metallic green – may have been involved in the incident. A car matching the same description has since been recovered from nearby Wellington Road and we are now asking anybody who saw a car matching this description in either location to get in touch as soon as possible.

“We would also like to hear from anybody who has dashcam, CCTV or mobile phone footage of the incident, and who has not yet been spoken to by police.

“We know that King Street will have been busy around the time of the incident and we are confident there is someone, or several people, out there who know what happened.

"We understand people may be reluctant to come forward during this time, especially if they have not been following the government guidelines about staying at home, but we would reassure them that our immediate concern is to find out what happened.

“We urge anyone who has any information, no matter how insignificant they may feel it to be, to come forward and speak to us as a matter of urgency.”

“We appreciate this will have caused a lot of worry in the community, but we have deployed significant additional resources, including armed officers, to carry out high visibility patrols in the area to provide reassurance to residents. Anyone with concerns or questions is welcome to speak to those officers.”

Anybody with information is asked to get in touch straight away on 101, quoting log number 817 of May 17.

No arrests have been made.