A woman in her 20s has died after she was found with gunshot wounds in the garden of a home in the Old Swan area of Liverpool, Merseyside Police said.

Officers were called just after 12.40am on Sunday to a house on Leinster Road and found a woman in the rear garden of the property with injuries to her body consistent with gunshot wounds, the force said.

Medical treatment was administered at the scene, but the woman was taken to hospital where she was later pronounced dead.

While the woman has not yet been formally identified, her next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers.

Detectives have launched a murder investigation with inquiries being carried out in the local area, and a post-mortem examination is due to take place to confirm the cause of death.

Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Kameen said: “This clearly was a very shocking incident which has led to the death of a young woman.

“I understand how frightening incidents like this can seem to ordinary members of the public and in the coming hours and days we will be speaking to people living in the local and wider community to reassure them of the ongoing work we are doing to find the person or people responsible.

“Gun crime has no place on the streets of Merseyside and we will leave no stone unturned to bring those responsible to justice.

“An investigation is under way and a number of lines of inquiry are currently being investigated.

“The community, as always, are our eyes and ears and we know that there may be people living locally who saw or heard something in the early hours which may prove to be significant to our investigation.

“I would urge those people to please come forward and tell us what they know. If you live or work locally and have private CCTV or a Ring doorbell please check it to see if it captured anything which may assist us.

“Similarly I would ask taxi and delivery drivers if they were driving in the area to check their dashcam footage. We are particularly keen to find anyone who saw a vehicle being driven erratically in the area around Prescot Road.

“Information and video footage can be shared directly with the investigation team via the police public portal – Public Portal (mipp.police.uk).

“You can also contact us via social media @MerPolCC or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting reference 22000615873.”