Brother of Elle Edwards’ killer Connor Chapman given gang injunction

The brother of convicted murderer Connor Chapman, who shot and killed Elle Edwards outside a Wirral pub on Christmas Eve last year, has been served with a gang injunction.

Lewis Chapman, 22, was handed the order by Merseyside Police on Wednesday and it prevents him from associating with known gang members or from entering the Woodchurch, Beechwood or Ford estates in Birkenhead.

Ms Edwards, 26, was an innocent bystander in a ‘gang revenge’ shooting outside The Lighthouse in Wallasey Village following a feud between rival gang members from those estates.

Connor Chapman, 23, from Woodchurch, opened fire with a Skorpion sub-machine gun on a crowd of people just before midnight intending to hit Kieran Salkeld, 29, and Jake Duffy, 23, both from Beechwood. The pair, who were injured in the attack but recovered, were themselves handed gang injunctions last month.

Chief Inspector Duncan Swan said: “The prohibitions detailed in this injunction are widely known by our local officers and will be policed rigorously so if [Lewis] Chapman breaches his prohibitions, we can act quickly to arrest him and put him back before the courts where he could receive a prison sentence.”

The conditions of the order mean Lewis Chapman is prohibited from:

• Associating and communicating with named persons by any means
• Entering the Woodchurch, Beechwood or Ford estates unless given prior written authority from the Chief Constable of Merseyside Police or a nominated delegate of the Chief Constable
• Either directly or indirectly using or threatening to use violence against any person or property including by phone or internet
• Either directly or indirectly engaging in any abusive or threatening conduct including by phone or internet
• Being in possession of any class A or B drug
• Being in possession of any equipment for use in the manufacture, cultivation or distribution of any class A or B drugs
• Possessing more than one mobile phone or sim card, which must be registered
• Riding or being a passenger on any electrically powered bike or scooter, any quad bike, motorbike, scrambler bike, trial bike, or any other type of two wheeled motorised bike within the county of Merseyside.

Any breaches of the prohibitions can result in him being arrested and taken to court.

Merseyside Police is proactively targeting gang-related activity in Birkenhead and in May launched EVOLVE Wirral with partners - a Home Office-based Clear, Hold, Build strategy to help regenerate areas worst affected by serious and organised crime.

Lewis’s brother, Connor, was given a gang injunction two months before he shot Wirral beautician Ms Edwards in the head. He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 48 years following a high-profile trial at Liverpool Crown Court in July.

In passing sentence Mr Justice Goose said: “What you did Connor Chapman was as wicked as it was shocking. You murdered Elle, bringing an end to her life, and caused serious injury and wounded others. It’s utterly shocking you carefully planned a revenge attack in a gang rivalry. You had no thought for anyone else. The risks of what you did were as high as they were obvious.”

Speaking after the verdict, Elle’s father Tim Edwards said: “That thing that pulled the trigger. I hope he rots in hell. Even that’s too good for him. I look for a reaction, and he hasn’t given one yet - not one inkling of remorse or regret or anything.”