Atmosphere was ‘tense’ in pub before Elle Edwards was shot, witness reveals, as her heartbroken dad visits murder scene

THE pub where gun victim Elle Edwards was shot dead had a tense atmosphere earlier in the night, a witness said.

And a lot of regulars left almost four hours before the shooting because gang members from outside the area turned up, they added.

It comes as the beautician's heartbroken dad today visited the scene with his son and daughter-in-law where Elle, 26, was shot dead in Wallasey, Merseyside.

A local told the : "The lads involved are not from this area. That’s why a lot of the locals left about 8pm because they could feel the tension."

Another woman, 20, said she head the shots and then saw a boy run in holding a bullet wound to his stomach.

She added: "The manager ran to the lad and was pushing his stomach down. All the staff were helping.

"It was absolutely horrible. Everyone is devastated."

Elle's emotional dad Tim Edwards read the many floral tributes left for Elle against a brick wall at the Lighthouse Pub before giving his son a tight hug.

It is believed she was innocently caught up in a feud between rival gangs when she was shot in the head at around 11.50pm as she sat in the pub's outdoor seating area on Christmas Eve.

Tim previously left a bouquet on Boxing Day with an emotional card reading: "To my beautiful Elle, you are the light of my life. You will never be gone, Mum and Dad xxxx."

A photo of Elle was also left with a heart-shaped plaque reading: "Special daughter, that happiness you brought, in your own special way, will be remembered with love each and every day."

Police today described the killing as "the most appalling and callous murder".

Detective Chief Constable Ian Critchley added: "To be murdered in the most horrific and brutal way by the most cowardly of actions is quite incomprehensible for us all."

And Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said on Tuesday night: "Anyone involved in arranging this shooting, pulling the trigger and supplying the gun deserves to see every Christmas behind bars."

It is thought the gunman had been tipped off that a man he had a bust-up with a few days earlier was among the drinkers.

Witnesses said he fired up to 12 rounds before fleeing in a dark Mercedes. Four men were hit.

One, understood to be his target, remains in a critical condition.

Elle’s sister Lucy, who lives in Dubai but had flown home for Christmas, had been with her celebrating festivities at the pub but left earlier in the evening.

In a moving post on Instagram she said: “My beautiful sister, my bestest friend, my second mummy and my rock.

“I love and miss you so, so much already. My Elle May.”

A GoFundMe page has raised more than £15,000 for the family in a day.

Police continue to question a man, 30, from Tranmere, Wirral, who is being held on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.

And a woman, 19, from Rock Ferry, Wirral, was held on suspicion of cons­piracy to murder.

Elle had been with her sister Lucy and pals "dancing and singing" before tragedy struck around 11.50pm.

Lucy had headed home before shots rang out. Elle was then struck by a bullet and slumped to the ground.

Other punters performed CPR before paramedics arrived but Elle died soon after at Arrowe Park Hospital.