A teenager involved in the police investigation into the murder of Rhys Jones is a notorious figure in the community who has been linked to gun crime in the recent past, it has emerged.

He is said to be a leading member of the Croxteth Crew and is understood to patrol his gang’s patch on a black bicycle hidden behind a dark hoody pulled over a distinctive black cap. He was arrested this year on suspicion of attempted murder but was released without charge.

Although Merseyside Police refused to reveal why he was arrested, local sources have linked him to a series of incidents in Liverpool in March that escalated into gun battles on the streets between the neighbouring rivals, the Strand gang or Nogga Dogz and the Croxteth Crew.

The tit-for-tat war began when a 17-year-old teenager, believed to be a Crocky (Croxteth Crew member) was shot in the leg near Croxteth Sports Centre. Soon after, homes were sprayed with bullets as gang members took revenge in Norris Green.

“It was like waking up in the middle of the Alamo,” one resident told the Liverpool Echo at the time.

The teenager’s name is one of a small number circulating in the area eight days after 11-year-old Rhys was shot dead outside the Fir Tree pub in Croxteth Park as he walked home after football practice. It is believed that the boy, a fanatical Everton suppporter, inadvertently strayed into the path of the intended targets, three Nogga Dogz members.

Rhys’s murder came after two years of shootings between the gangs, which culminated in the murder of Lian Smith, 19, leader of the Strand gang, last year. His associates, dressed in black and astride bicycles, were a visible presence yesterday on a parade of run-down shops in Scargreen Avenue, said to be their heartland. Plastic flowers marking the anniversary of Lian Smith’s death are still attached to lampposts.

Police have widened the search for the murder weapon, believed to be a long-barrelled revolver. The playing fields where Rhys had been playing football were cordoned off as officers from the Matrix gun crime unit continued to scour Dam Wood, the dense woodland that separates suburban Croxteth Park from Croxteth, an inner city suburb.

A sawn-off shotgun was found in a field in Norris Green a mile away after a resident reported the sound of gun-fire on Wednesday. A teenager and two men were arrested but the incident was not being linked to Rhys’s murder. Overnight, a 15-year-old who had been arrested on suspicion of murder was released on police bail.

Detectives renewed their appeal for witnesses to pluck up courage and come forward as the force released an emotional poem written by Rhys’s father, Stephen Jones, 44, a Tesco store manager, about his son’s love of football. In it he imagines his son playing football in heaven with George Best, Dixie Dean and Bobby Moore.

Mr Jones and his wife Melanie, 41, yesterday read tributes at the shrine of bouquets and football shorts that continues to grow outside the Fir Tree pub. They also spoke to the Liverpool Echo about the messages they have received for their “little guy”.

Mrs Jones said: “We are just an ordinary family from Croxteth Park and these people who last week had no idea who we were have taken time out to write and offer their support. The support has been fantastic, it really has. To get so many messages has given us such a strength.”

It is understood that Rhys’s funeral will take place next week at the Anglican Cathedral in Liverpool, followed by a private burial.

Football heaven

Now God wanted a football match
And to play it up in heaven
But first he needed players
And select his first eleven.
Georgie Best, big Brian Labone
The legend Dixie Dean
Alan Ball and Bobby Moore
All made it in the team.
He needed one more player
Someone who would be quick
From up above he looked down
And saw Rhys there in his kit.
So Rhys was taken up above
God took him by the hand
To play the game he loved so much
Where sponsorship is banned.
There is no cheating either
as God is the referee
There are no mega wages
And the transfers they are free.
The games are live on telly
You don’t have to subscribe
The players all stay on their feet
Cos no one takes a dive.
So Rhys plays now so happily
To the angels in the crowd
And every time he hits the net
They roar his name so loud.
Have fun my little blue boy
You’re safe and in God’s care
Till it’s time for me to get my boots
And join with you up there.

*Four more people were arrested in connection with the murder of Rhys Jones this morning, bringing to 15 the total number of suspects detained in the case. The four suspects - two men aged 24 and 20, and two teenagers aged 17 and 16 - were being questioned in Liverpool. No one has been charged with a crime. Rhys's funeral, which will be "football-themed", will take place at Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral next Thursday.

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