Police have named a 27-year-old man who was shot dead on a residential street in Liverpool.

Carl Russell died after being shot multiple times in the head and torso as he and his girlfriend were getting out of a car on Sunday morning.

Merseyside police said on Monday a 29-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder after warrants were executed in the Belle Vale area of the city.

Russell, who survived a previous attempt on his life eight years ago, was standing near a parked car when the attacker approached and fired several shots.

The killer, wearing a balaclava and high-visibility jacket, then rode off on a bicycle as horrified residents ran to help the victim.

Neighbours said children had been playing in the street shortly before armed officers and paramedics were called to Cornwood Close at 11.30am on Sunday.

DCI Mark Baker said: “The investigation into this shocking incident is in its very early stages and we are keen to speak to anyone who may have information which could help us establish the full circumstances and find those responsible.

“We believe the victim was shot as he and his girlfriend were getting out of a car and that it was a targeted incident. We will be looking into his movements before the incident took place and trying to establish a motive for the attack.

“We will not be resting on our laurels and, as the activity overnight shows, we are doing everything we can to find those responsible.”

Baker added: “We share the community’s shock and concern that this could happen in a residential street in broad daylight on a Sunday morning.

“I want to reassure the public that gun crime will not be tolerated on the streets of Merseyside at any time of day, and that we will thoroughly investigate any information given to us so we can put anyone who carries guns on our streets behind bars.”

Russell was almost killed when he was shot three times on New Year’s Day in 2009.

In that incident, when he was aged 18, masked men burst into his parents’ home on Cornwood Close and opened fire on him while he was playing video games.

The teenager sustained a fractured skull and wounds to his pelvis, bowel and stomach in the attack, which his barrister later told a court left him requiring crutches and a colostomy bag.

Russell was sentenced to five years in prison in October 2010 after admitting hiding a loaded Glock pistol, along with a black jacket and face protector which was found to be covered in gunshot residue.

Russell had claimed he was forced to store the weapon about two hours before he was shot in the New Year’s Day attack.

In September 2011, then aged 20, Russell confessed to a burglary that would otherwise “have never come to light” as his lawyers told a court he was determined to turn his life around.

Police issued an appeal for members of the public to contact them with any information about Russell’s murder, as well as for motorists to check any dashcam footage if they were in the area at the time.