Newry: man dead after shooting

A man has died after a shooting in Newry last night (Thursday) police have confirmed.

Officers were at the scene of the incident in the Ardcarn Park area on Thursday evening.

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

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.

Sinn Fein 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."

"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."