A man and a woman arrested as part of an investigation into the fatal shooting of a 28-year-old council worker have been released on bail.

Ashley Dale was found fatally wounded in the back garden of a house in Old Swan, Liverpool on Sunday 21 August.

The 25-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of her murder, while the 21-year-old woman had been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Both people have been conditionally bailed to a later date, pending further inquiries, Merseyside Police said.

Officers believe Ms Dale, a graduate who worked in the environmental health team at Knowsley Council, was not the intended victim of the attack.

In a touching tribute, her family said: “Ashley, our girl – our shining light. Our hearts are broken into a million pieces.

“Ashley was a hard-working young woman who had her entire life ahead of her.”

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Three fatal shootings in a week

Her death was one of three fatal shootings in the city within a week.

A day after Ms Dale was killed, nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel was shot dead in her home in Dovecot.

On Tuesday 22 August, 22-year-old Sam Rimmer was killed in a drive-by shooting in Dingle.

Since then, dozens of raids have been carried out by officers and more than 200 arrests have been made as the force attempts to crackdown on organised crime.

Police are continuing to appeal for information on the three killings.

‘Something insignificant could prove vital’

Detective Chief Inspector Cath Cummings said the force was “grateful” for information provided by the public so far, but urged people to keep coming forward.

“Something you may think is insignificant could prove vital, so let us assess every piece of information and take the appropriate action,” he said.

“Our thoughts remain with Ashley’s family in this awful time, and I’d ask anyone who knows what happened to do the right thing and support us and Ashley’s family in seeking justice.”

Detectives looking into Ms Dale’s death previously released CCTV footage of a car being driven in the area, shortly before the incident was reported.

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