Detectives are increasingly confident of identifying the name and hiding place of the gunman who shot dead a nine-year-old girl in her Liverpool home, as the intended victim is revealed to be a criminal on release from prison with convictions for drugs and burglary. The Guardian understands that police believe Joseph Nee is a “well-established organised crime group member” with connections to drugs. Nee, 35, from the Dovecot area of Liverpool, was out on licence from a prison sentence when a gunman tried to shoot him in the street on Monday evening. In their hunt for the man who killed Olivia Pratt-Korbel on Monday night, police have received intelligence from the community about his identity and a huge manhunt is now under way. Police are increasingly confident he did not have time to flee the UK and are closing in on him. Armed officers remain on standby for when he is located. Nee was arrested in hospital on Tuesday for breach of his licence conditions, and Merseyside police said he would be returned to prison. He was released last year under a policy of automatic release at the halfway point of his sentence. Nee remains in a stable condition, with police by his bedside asking him about the shooting and the events leading up to it – and who would be so determined to kill him in the street. The motive is unclear, sources said, and could be a turf war, a respect issue, or a dispute over drugs or another commodity. Extra armed officers, including additional armed-response vehicles, have been drafted in from the north-west region as police put on a show of force to deter gangland reprisals and reassure a fearful public. During Nee’s sentence, he was pictured on Instagram sunbathing with other inmates while in his underwear. He has a past drug conviction and has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years for being part of a ring pushing heroin and crack cocaine. The drugs ring, a court heard, stored weapons including a Mac-10 submachine gun loaded with hollow tip ammunition. Police believe the 35-year-old walked past the dying Olivia Pratt-Korbel and her injured mother, Cheryl, to reach an escape vehicle – a black Audi containing at least two associates – which took him to hospital for treatment for bullet wounds. They added that Nee forced his way into the home to escape his would-be assassin, after Olivia’s mother opened the door to see what the noise was outside. Horror at Olivia’s killing reverberated around Liverpool and across the country, with police appealing for information to identify the gunman. They have appealed to criminals for information, hoping they will be revolted by the callous nature of the shooting that caused the death of a child from a family unconnected to criminality. Peter Mitchell, a local councillor encamped at a community centre, said vital information had potentially been given to him to pass on to the police. He said: “One name was given to two of us, separately, by two separate people.” The fatal shooting of Olivia is the third firearms homicide in Merseyside in a week, after more than a year without any similar crimes. Raids were staged on Wednesday in connection with the first shooting last Tuesday evening of Sam Rimmer, who was struck by bullets as he stood in the street believed to be fired by assassins riding electric bikes. A 21-year-old man was arrested in connection with the killing, as was a 17-year-old. DCS Mark Kameen, Merseyside police’s head of investigation, said: “This is, in effect, Merseyside police baring its teeth. So our serious and organised crime element or fraternity decided to bare their teeth last week, but we are showing ours now. “So it’s about reassuring our communities that we are on the front foot around keeping them safe, we are proactive, we are hard-edged and we will take the fight to the criminal.” Olivia was standing behind her mother, Cheryl, when the gunman opened fire. The bullet struck Cheryl in the wrist and passed through her and into Olivia’s chest. The gunman fired again at the fleeing alleged gang member. Not everyone in the area condemned Nee. One local said: “He’s done nothing wrong. He was running and he’s seen a door open and he’s just gone for it. Anyone would do that if someone is pointing a gun at them. It’s unfair that people are blaming him for this.”