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Video: Paramilitary-style shootings double in west Belfast in 2016

PSNI Chief Superintendent Chris Noble condemning the attack on a 26-year-old man in Turf Lodge west Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell.
PSNI Chief Superintendent Chris Noble condemning the attack on a 26-year-old man in Turf Lodge west Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell. PSNI Chief Superintendent Chris Noble condemning the attack on a 26-year-old man in Turf Lodge west Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell.

THE PARAMILITARY style shooting of a man in west Belfast is not thought to be linked to the attack on a married couple in the same area less than a week ago.

The 26-year-old man was shot in an alleyway just off the Monagh Road in Turf Lodge shortly after 10pm on Tuesday.

He was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital where he is being treated for gunshot wounds to the legs. His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

The attack took place just a few streets from where Peter and Marie Dorrian, both aged in their 50s, were shot by an armed gang who stormed into their Turf Lodge home last Thursday.

It is understood the couple were targeted after being involved in an altercation in a bar in west Belfast at the start of the year. Locals say the row started after allegations were made about their son, who has since been warned he is also under threat.

Hours before the latest incident, the PSNI conducted enquiries in Turf Lodge as part of the investigation into the couple's shooting.

The shooting is the fourth paramilitary-style gun attack in the Turf Lodge area in recent weeks.

A 21-year-old man shot in both legs in the nearby Aitnamona area in January while a 16-year-old was also shot in Aitnamona in late December.

Chief superintendent Chris Noble said. while it was early days in the investigation, an active line of enquiry was that "violent dissident republicans" may have been involved.

The police chiefs said the PSNI did not want to speculate on a motive for the latest attack but said "in the past what we have seen is people taxing people involved in criminality and drug dealing and on other occasions they shoot them".

"Clearly there is no justification whatsoever for this type of anti-community behaviour", he added.

There were 20 paramilitary style shootings in west Belfast in 2016. However the four recent attacks in a matter of weeks has raised concerns about an escalation in vigilante-style violence in the area.

Sinn Féin MLA Pat Sheehan condemned the latest attack and urged anyone with information to bring it forward to the police.

"I would also call on the police to do more to reassure the public that they are actively investigating these shootings to bring those responsible to justice", he added.