These are the 6 key witnesses who police want to speak to as Aya Hachem murder investigation continues

Aya, 19, was shot in broad dead daylight on Sunday, May 17, close to the Lidl supermarket on King Street in Blackburn. Police said she is not believed to be the intended target of the shooting.

Lancashire Police now want to trace a number of potential witnesses who were near the scene at the time of her murder.

In particular, officers want to trace:

- A woman in a purple jacket and blue jeans with white footwear, potentially trainers

- An Asian man with a grey beard wearing a green coat, blue trousers, black shoes and a black hat

- A man who was in a blue gilet/ body warmer with a dark tracksuit jacket and red top underneath. He had on black bottoms with red Nike trainers and a fluorescent yellow hat

- A white man wearing a blue and white Adidas tracksuit with a black cap. He was carrying a red carrier bag

- Two women who were potentially in the company of each other. One had dark hair worn in a ponytail with a red waist length bubble-type jacket, dark blue joggers and a backpack. The other was white with strawberry blonde hair tied back in a ponytail with a scrunchie. She was also wearing black leggings and white trainers. Both women may be Romanian.

Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) Det Supt Andy Cribbin, said: "This has been a vast and complex investigation in terms of scale, number of arrests and the number of witnesses we have spoken to.

"We still have a large, dedicated team of detectives working on the inquiry.

"I would like to reassure the people we’ve described that we are purely looking to speak to them as witnesses because they may have seen or heard what happened before, during or after Aya was shot. Their information could prove vital to our investigation.

"If you recognise the descriptions as you or someone you know, please make contact with us as soon as possible.

"Similarly, if you think you know something about the incident but you haven’t yet spoken to us, or perhaps you have been in touch, for instance about suspicious vehicles in the area on the day or around the time of the shooting, please speak to us again.

"We want to make sure we leave no stone unturned in our quest for justice for Aya and her family."

Progress made on Aya Hachem murder investigation

In the seven and a half weeks since Aya was shot and killed, 22 people have been arrested.

The most recent was yesterday morning (Thursday, July 9) when a 39-year-old man from Bury was detained on suspicion of Aya’s murder and the attempted murder of who is believed to be the intended target of the shooting.

He has since been released under investigation pending further enquiries.

A 33-year-old man from Manchester was also arrested on Tuesday (July 7) on suspicion of assisting an offender. He has also been released under investigation pending further enquiries.

In total:

- Seven people have been charged with Aya’s murder and the attempted murder of the intended target of the shooting

- Two people have been released on bail pending further enquiries

- Ten people have been released under investigation

- One person is in police custody (he is in Spain awaiting extradition so he can be brought back to Lancashire and charged)

- Two people have been released without charge.

Lancashire Police are reminding people that any information or video footage in relation to this murder investigation can still be sent via the Major Incident Public Portal at https://mipp.police.uk/operation/0401020120E05-PO1

You can also contact Lancashire Police on 101, quoting log number 0412 of May 18, or anonymously via independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.