On 22 August 2007, Rhys Milford Jones, an eleven-year-old English boy, was murdered in Liverpool while walking home from football practice.
He then held out a Smith & Wesson handgun at arm's length, firing three shots,[7] later determined to be the wrong bullets for the gun.
Paramedics tried for 90 minutes to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at Alder Hey Children's Hospital.
Radio City also launched their anti-gun-crime campaign (backed by the Jones family), In Rhys's Name Get Guns Off Our Streets, after the incident.
[10] Despite reports that the killer's name was widely known and had appeared on internet sites and in graffiti,[11] police continued their appeal for witnesses to come forward.
[13] On 16 December 2008, at the end of a nine-week trial in the Crown Court at Liverpool, Sean Mercer (a member of the Croxteth Crew gang) was found guilty of murder.
[14] Other gang members James Yates, Nathan Quinn, Boy "M" (who could not be named as he was still under 18), Gary Kays, and Melvin Coy were convicted of assisting an offender.
[16] On 28 October 2009, Yates had his sentence increased to 12 years imprisonment, following a referral to the Court of Appeal by the Solicitor General Vera Baird QC as being "too lenient".
[17] On 2 November 2009, Mercer stabbed Jake Fahri (Jimmy Mizen's murderer) in prison, apparently having crafted a knife from a pair of tweezers.
Rhys Jones was a dedicated supporter of Everton Football Club, and had a season ticket along with his father and brother.
[24] Rhys Jones was buried in a private ceremony on 6 September 2007, following a funeral service at Liverpool Cathedral, which was attended by more than 2,500 people.
His family issued a public invitation for well-wishers to attend the service, where mourners were requested to wear bright clothes or football strips.