Man shot in Carrickfergus remains 'critically ill'
The attack has been linked to a loyalist feud in the County Antrim town.
Last updated 14th Mar 2017
The man shot in the neck in Carrickfergus on Monday afternoon remains in a critical condition in hospital
He was attacked in broad daylight in the Pinewood Avenue area of the Woodburn Estate.
The victim, who has been named locally as Geordie Gilmore is in his 40's. He is a high profile loyalist and the shooting is being linked to an ongoing feud in the area.
Superintendent Darrin Jones said the man's injuries were being treated as serious and police were following significant lines of inquiry.
The senior officer said: Firearms being discharged in a residential area, particularly during daylight hours when children are in the vicinity, is concerning.
We need the community to give us the information needed so we can remove the dangerous individuals who carried out this attack from our streets and put them before a court of law.
There will be a continued police presence in the area as we search for those who carried out this brutal attack.''
Armed police wearing protective masks carried out raids on property in the area.
Alliance Assembly member Stewart Dickson said: This is an appalling act, particularly as it was carried out in broad daylight in a residential area.
Guns have no place on our streets and despicable actions of this nature have absolutely no place in our society.
Those behind this incident do not speak for the community and I appeal for calm following it.''
MP for East Antrim, Sammy Wilson, has condemned the shooting and connected it to a serious assault on doorman in the town on Saturday night:
"It would seem that both incidents are related and the fact that guns have been brought out would signify a serious escalation in an intra paramilitary dispute.
"As a result fear has been brought back into communities and there is a real danger of people with no association with this long running dispute being caught up in the crossfire and the violence. In the meantime considerable police resources are again being absorbed to deal with this violence and the communities in which this is happening are experiencing all the disruption of heavy security presence.
"There is little point in appealing to those involved to cease their activities they have shown no regard for the impact of their activities in the past but I would hope that the law would be enforced vigorously in order to bring those involved to justice. It is good that the police were able to make arrests so quickly and hopefully this will help deescalate the situation."