LONDON, Oct 3 — A 34-year-old man appeared in court in north-west England today, charged with the murder of a nine-year-old girl who was shot dead at her home.

Thomas Cashman was charged on Saturday after being arrested in connection with the death of Olivia Pratt-Korbel in Liverpool on August 22.

The young girl’s death was the third fatal shooting in Liverpool in a week at the time and prompted calls for tighter gun control.

She was shot in the chest as she sheltered behind her mother, who had opened the door of their home after hearing gunshots in the street outside.

Cashman, who appeared at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court alongside a second man accused of assisting an offender, is facing four other charges.

He is accused of the attempted murder of the girl’s mother, Cheryl Korbel, and a man that police said was the intended target of the shooting, who had burst into the family’s home to try to escape.

Cashman, from the West Derby area of Liverpool, was also charged with two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

No pleas were entered and no application for bail was made during the 10-minute hearing, which was sent to be heard by a judge at Liverpool Crown Court. — AFP