ROYAL Navy sailor Anthony Cavanagh yesterday became the second person to die after an unprovoked attack at a Liverpool city centre bar within the space of just one week.
His parents were too devastated to speak last night after the "well-loved" sailor,, who had his 22nd birthday on Tuesday, died at the Walton Neurological Centre.
Police have now launched a murder investigation a week after the Able Seaman, from north Liverpool, was attacked while he was on shore leave as he left the Walkabout Bar, off Concert Square.
The circumstances bore striking similarities to the way in which Oxford University graduate Christopher McBride, 25, died a week ago, eight days after he was assaulted in the nearby Jacaranda.
As both families yesterday struggled to come to terms with the senseless tragedy of their loss, serious questions were being asked about how to bring an end to violence in the city's night-time economy.
It emerged that, in the past three months, a staggering 400 people have been victims of a serious crime, many of them assaults, in Liverpool city centre, according to latest police figures.
Last night, Merseyside Assistant Chief Constable for operations Bernard Lawson said it was up to licensees and the public to take on a more socially-responsible role and help police in their bid to crack alcohol-fuelled crime.
He urged drinkers to come forward with evidence if they witnessed an attack, but said a major part of the burden must be shouldered by the city's pub and club owners not to serve drunken customers.
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Richardson, leading the investigation into Mr Cavanagh's death, spoke out against the culture of violence in the city centre.
He said he was determined to catch the offender and re-issued an appeal for witnesses to come forward.
The victim's family, who live in Kirkdale, have spent an agonising week at his hospital bedside.
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