Southport is named as the site of one of the deaths in a series of air-rifle shootings, linking the town to the pattern that makes Heather suspect she was deliberately targeted. Its mention helps establish that the attacks extend beyond Manchester and are not readily dismissed as coincidence.

Role in the Shooting Series

Heather connects two deaths following air-rifle incidents within less than a week: one in Manchester and one in Southport. She places these cases alongside public alarm about possible Russian involvement and her own shooting, asking whether the apparent coincidences point to a larger pattern.

Significance to the Investigation

Jo tells Heather that the known toll is actually three deaths, with Heather the fourth person shot and the only survivor. Southport therefore enters the discussion as one location in a wider sequence of attacks, while Heather’s survival turns the pattern from a news story she has pieced together into an immediate threat to her own life. The passage identifies no further details about the Southport victim or the circumstances of that shooting.