Boy, 11, Shot Dead, and UK Press Reels

An 11-year-old boy was shot dead in Liverpool yesterday, leading to soul-searching and recriminations across the British press. Rhys Jones died in his mother's arms, apparently an innocent victim in a showdown between two local gangs. Rhys's photograph is on the cover of almost every newspaper today alongside claims of "anarchy in the UK."

Gordon Brown expressed his "shock," and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith nearly broke down in tears during a television interview. The Sun devotes 10 pages to the boy's murder by "hoodies with handguns," and the Daily Mail called the murder a symptom of "breakdown Britain." The Guardian led with YouTube videos of the gang under suspicion. (More crime stories.)