CARLISLE was barely a month into its new lease of nightlife after the lifting of Covid restrictions.

But if there was any kind of party atmosphere in the city centre last Saturday night it ended abruptly at 8.48pm as the first desperate 999 calls went in to Cumbria Police from revellers in or near to Carlyle’s Court, the small arcade that links Fisher Street to St Mary’s Gate.

That was the moment people realised something horrific had happened.

For 15 or so desperate minutes, the police and paramedics who had rushed to the scene fought to save 24-year-old Ryan Kirkpatrick.

Tragically, he died at the scene.

About to celebrate his 25th birthday, Ryan died in what detectives believe was a “targeted” attack.

Their faces hidden by hoods or masks, his killers appear to have pursued him into Carlyle’s Court, undeterred by the public setting for their deadly violence.

It was a busy Saturday night in Carlisle. 

Police say there were scores of people in the area, mingling, socialising, moving between pubs and bars.

In the hours after the attack, police began the grim task of launching a murder investigation, setting up an incident room at the city’s Durranhill Police HQ and dedicating a team of around 60 officers to the task of gathering evidence.

The police incident tape may now have been removed from the scene but in the area around Carlyle’s Court this week the mood was a sobering mixture of shock, sadness and disbelief.

Dozens of people have visited the scene, leaving floral tributes,

Attached to one was a birthday card; and with another, a card with this poignant message: “To Ryan, my brother. Happy Birthday. Can’t believe you’re not here. We had some memories over the years. Love you Bro. Love Big. x”

The human impact of this tragedy seemed to deepen as Ryan Kirkpatrick’s family released their own tribute.

Describing him, they said: “Funny, strong, loving and charming, your cheeky smile will be imprinted in our hearts forever.

“Cherished memories remembered until we can hold you again.”

He was a loving son, brother, grandson, uncle, nephew, cousin and friend – and the proud owner of his much-loved sausage dog Frank, they said.

“You just don’t expect this in Carlisle,” said Harry Carter, 27, who works near the scene of the attack. “It’s just so sad. There’s been a constant stream of people coming to lay flowers at the scene.

“You hear about this sort of thing happening in places like London. You wouldn’t wish this on anybody.”

One of his colleagues said: “There’s obviously a sub-culture in Carlisle which most people are unaware of. What’s happened is absolutely tragic.”

Businessman Keith Tattersall, 34, who is also based nearby, spoke of his disbelief that such a thing could have happened in Carlisle city centre.

“It’s just so shocking,” he said. “We’ve seen a lot of his family and close friends and it’s obviously incredibly difficult for them.

“My heart goes out to his family and friends. Over the past two days, as they’ve visited the scene, we’ve seen a lot of raw emotions coming out.”

Another worker summed up her feelings as she said: “When what had happened came out, I just felt sick.

“I didn’t want to come back to town.”

Many of those visiting the site never knew Mr Kirkpatrick. They included Alisia Bell and 19-year-old Ben Pooley. “It’s awful,” said Alisia. “Really shocking.” Ben added: “It’s the kind of thing you expect in a place like London, not Carlisle.”

Understandably, there is impatience among some people over the pace of the investigation.

But as Cumbria Police’s Head of Crime, Detective Chief Superintendent Dean Holden explained, the task of gathering evidence is huge and complex.

There are concerns that some potential witnesses have yet to come forward because they fear reprisals.

Anybody who helps the investigation will be safeguarded, he said.

“There are some witnesses to the actual attack and some people have come forward.

“Having looked at the CCTV and some of the body-cam footage, there must be at the time of the attack around 100 people in the area, or surrounding pubs.

“One of the biggest lines of enquiry that we have in this particular investigation is the CCTV because it’s so extensive across the city centre,” said the officer. “I’m pretty confident that CCTV will feature strongly as some of our strongest evidence in this case.” 

Detectives believe there were two primary attackers, with others involved in helping them, possibly helping the killers escape. He explained that police can not publicly identify suspects when identification is likely to be an issue in any subsequent prosecutions.

But Detective Chief Superintendent Dean Holden assured the public that the investigation is a top priority case.

He said: “I’ve personally reviewed the CCTV and the police officer body cam footage and you can see the shock and the horror on the faces of many people in the crowds around. The public concern is significant.

“Carlisle is comparatively safe compared to other city centres but anybody witnessing that is understandably really, really concerned. We have mounted a very significant investigation, which has at least 60 dedicated officers working on this.

“But at its height we probably had 100 officers working on the investigation.

“Based on those two things – the level of public concern and level of resources we’re applying to this investigation – this is categorised as an A+ murder.

“This was a targeted attack. There are some people who may know the players in this and may be frightened of coming forward because they’re frightened of reprisals.

“But we have ways of managing that; we will support them. This investigation is in as good as place as it can be with respect to what happened. But we do desperately need people to come forward if they saw any part of the attack.

“It was a Saturday night and people will have been out-and-about and may have seen something. There will also have been people driving about that night. They may have dashcam footage that could be relevant. We would ask them to come forward.”

“ I do anticipate that we’ll continue to make arrests.”

Hours after the senior officer spoke to The Cumberland News, police named named two men they want to quesiton in connection with the killing - Kane Hull, 28, who has connections with Wigton and Carlisle and 32-year-old Liam Porter, from Carlisle.

You can read about this development by clicking this link.

Any person who believes they can help the investigation can share information in a number of ways. Firstly, you can use the dedicated online platform that has been set up for the investigation, codenamed Operation Denmark, available on this link.

You can also call 101 and speak to police directly. Alternatively, if you wish to remain anonymous, you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.