Politicians condemn 'very brutal' car shooting in Northern Ireland

A man has died after a shooting in Newry, police have said. 

The incident happened on Thursday evening in the Ardcarn Park area where it is understood the man was shot in a car outside a house at about 6pm. 

The scene was sealed off and there was a heavy police presence in the vicinity on Thursday evening.

The PSNI said Ardcarn Park was closed to motorists and pedestrians.

Sinn Féin MLA for Newry and Armagh Liz Kimmins described the incident as “very brutal”.

“The community have been left totally shocked,” she said. 

“We totally condemn this incident. A family have been left grieving here.”

She described the local community as “very proud and strong”.

“We do not want to see this criminality on our streets and it is no reflection of the community in the area,” she added.

SDLP Newry and Armagh MLA Justin McNulty described the attack as “disgraceful”.

He added that the local community was “reeling”, adding: “This is a shocking incident and the local community has been in a state of disbelief as details have emerged.

“Nobody wants to see scenes like this in our community.

“There can be no place for guns on our streets and I would encourage anyone with any information to come forward to police as soon as possible so the people behind this disgraceful attack can be apprehended and this dangerous weapon can be removed from circulation before anyone else is hurt.”

Alliance MLA Nuala McAllister condemned the murder.

“There is no place for guns on our streets,” said Ms McAllister.

“This is a call-back to the dark old days and we cannot allow those who want to drag us back to the past to do so.”

SDLP councillor Declan McAteer “utterly condemned” the shooting.

“I would appeal to people and neighbours to support the police in any way in the attempt to find the perpetrators of what is a heinous crime committed in our locality,” he told the PA news agency.

“Thankfully we haven’t had many shootings of this nature in the last number of years. This departure is quite worrying.

“Although we don’t know what the background is, it’s always worrying when a murder like this takes place.”