Police investigating the fatal shooting in Liverpool of 11-year-old Rhys Jones have arrested a third youth.
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| Rhys Jones (11) was murdered on Wednesday as he walked home from football training |
In a brief statement Assistant Chief Constable Patricia Gallan of Merseyside Police said officers had arrested a "juvenile for suspicion of murder", offering no further details.
It was reported the youth was a local 16-year-old teenager.
Earlier, Ms Gallan renewed appeals to help find the killer of Rhys Jones and said she was disappointed by the public's response so far.
She said the key to solving the case lay within the community in the Croxteth area.
"We have had a few calls, but not nearly enough," she told reporters. "I am disappointed that we've not had further calls coming in and that is why I am appealing to the community to come and tell us who is responsible.
"You know out there who has committed this crime. Please tell us - help Rhys's mum and dad.
In a direct appeal to the murderer, she said: "If you are responsible for this crime, come and tell us, hand yourself in."
The schoolboy, a keen footballer and a regular at Everton's Goodison Park, was shot in the neck outside a pub on Wednesday as he walked home from training with friends.
Rhys's parents, Melanie and Stephen Jones, laid flowers near the scene of their son's death and read some of the messages left with the floral tributes. Clutching a small teddy bear, his mother dabbed her eyes as she looked at the mass of flowers, toys and cards laid near the car park.
Yesterday, Melanie Jones, who cradled her son in her arms as he lay dying, made an emotional appeal for help.
"Our son was only 11, only a baby - this should not happen, this should not be going on. Please help us," she said. "I know people must be frightened but they can't leave this killer out there. It could be their son, their brother next time, because it will happen again."
Stephen Jones said: "We are devastated. We have lost our world, the world has lost a good guy."
Detectives say the suspect is a slim white boy aged between 13 and 15, who was riding a black BMX bicycle and wearing a dark hooded top and white trainers.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the killing was a "heinous crime that shocked the whole of the country".
A boy of 14 and another aged 18 were released on police bail yesterday after being arrested in connection with the murder.
The shooting was the latest in a spate of murders of young people across Britain this year that have focused attention on gang-related violence.