A MAN suspected of being a Crocky Crew gang leader was gunned down in the middle of a pub 20 years ago - and cops are still hunting for clues.

       Danny McDonald was blasted seven times in the Royal Oak pub in Liverpool by a gunman wearing a ski-mask just before 5pm on New Year's Day, 2004.

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       Danny McDonald murder raised tensions between the Strand Gang and the Crocky Crew in Liverpool Credit: Stuart Griffiths 3

       Three years later schoolboy Rhys Jones was murdered 3

       The 11-year-old's killer was Sean Mercer Credit: Getty Images

       A friend of the 20-year-old was also shot in the unsolved attack.

       "I was upstairs eating my tea and I heard the bangs of the gunshots, I don't know how many," pub manager Lynn Gray told the Daily Post at the time.

       "I wasn't in the main part of the pub so I didn't see what happened."

       McDonald's murder was reportedly the result of a number of petty disputes between the Strand Gang, aka the Nogga Dogs, and the Crocky Crew.

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       The Strand Gang hailed from the Norris Green district of Liverpool.

       The death of McDonald sparked a series of attacks between the two gangs.

       No-one was charged with McDonald's death, but three years later schoolboy Rhys Jones was murdered.

       The 11-year-old's killer, Sean Mercer, was also a member of the Crocky Crew.

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       Mercer was told three members of rival Nogga Dogs had been seen on their territory in August 2007.

       Mercer raced to the location on his BMX, armed with the Smith & Wesson .455 revolver from the First World War.

       None of his intended targets were hit when Mercer opened fire.

       Joey Thompson, an influential member of the Strand Gang, was then executed in June 2012.

       The 32-year-old dad was shot in the chest on Ravensthorpe Green after being ambushed by two men.

       Thompson was one of five arrested by police over the 2004 murder of McDonald, but he was released without charge.

       Strand Gang rookie Liam Smith was also widely believed to be the killer.

       The shooting was said to have propelled Smith up the hierarchy of the Strand Gang.

       He was shot dead outside a prison in 2006 in a revenge attack.

       A 10-week trial in 2007, involving 11 defendants, saw three men convicted of murder and one of manslaughter.

       Both cases remain on Merseyside Police's list of unsolved murders in the region.

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       Anyone with information about the murder of Danny McDonald or Joseph Thompson can contact Merseyside Police via Twitter (@MerPolCC), or by calling the force on 101.

       You can also contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or online here.