Ashley Dale was shot in the back garden of her home in what police believe was a mistaken identity attack. Her younger brother, Lewis Dunne, was killed in 2015 aged 16 after a gang mistook him for a rival gang member. Their deaths are not believed to be connected. Dale was a graduate who had recently secured promotion with the environmental health team at Knowsley Council. Chief Constable Mark Kameen of Merseyside Police said the front door of her home in Leinster Road had been forced open. Several shots were fired before Dale was found with gunshot wounds at 12.40am. Describing the attack as “powerless and reckless”, Kamin said it was aimed at “an innocent member of the public” and urged people to “come together” to help find those responsible. Kamin said he wanted the community to “have a sense of absolute revulsion, disgust and shock” as he appealed for witnesses after confirming no arrests had yet been made. “If you live or work locally and have private CCTV or a doorbell, check it to see if it has recorded anything that can help us,” he said. “Similarly, I would ask taxi and delivery drivers if they were driving in the area to check their dashboard video. We are particularly keen to find anyone who saw a vehicle being driven erratically in the area around Prescot Road.” In a statement released through Merseyside Police, Dale’s 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 whole life ahead of her. She had just been promoted to her job at Knowsley council. She had a degree and so many plans for her bright future that had just begun. “Her laugh, smile and energy were contagious in any room. We cannot reconcile how this would happen to a defenseless woman in her own home. None of this makes sense and our lives will never be the same again. A senseless crime that tore a family apart. Justice must be served.” Graham Morgan, the leader of Knowsley Metropolitan Borough, said everyone at the town hall was “extremely saddened” by Dale’s death, adding: “Ashley will be a great loss to her team and the wider council, as well as those of residents of Knowsley he supported. . “He was extremely popular with everyone he came in contact with. Our thoughts and condolences are with Ashley’s family, friends and colleagues at this extremely sad time. We are offering support to colleagues who are understandably shocked and upset by this news.”