POLICE have released CCTV footage of a lone gunman fleeing the scene of the murder of Danny McClean in north Belfast one year ago.
The 54-year-old was shot dead as he sat in a car on Cliftonville Road on February 2 2021.
On the first anniversary of Mr McClean's killing, police yesterday renewed their appeal for information and issued CCTV footage showing the gunman leaving the scene of the "cold and calculated murder".
PSNI Detective Inspector Rachel Switzer said Mr McClean had been sitting in the driver’s seat of a red Audi Q2, which was parked in the driveway of a property on Cliftonville Road, at around 8pm.
She said he "was approached by a gunman and shot a number of times".
"The lone gunman had crossed from Clifton Crescent and fired a number of shots, at close range," she said.
"I am releasing footage showing those responsible for Danny’s murder leaving the scene. I would ask people to view this footage.
"The CCTV footage shows the gunman, after the murder, running towards Clifton Crescent where he gets into a light-coloured saloon-type car. The car is then driven away, turning left onto the Cliftonville Road.
"This was a cold and calculated murder, which has left a family bereft. Danny’s daughters have recently highlighted the family’s ongoing sadness, understandably heightened during the first Christmas without their father. Whoever is responsible has no regard whatsoever for life, and that includes the lives of local people.
"This was carried out in a busy residential area, and at a time when members of the public, including children, could easily have been passing by. This violence has no place on our streets, and the people of north Belfast deserve better."
His murder is reported to have been linked to a fall-out among dissidents.
The former soldier was due to appear in court on paramilitary-related charges the week after he died.
Detective Inspector Switzer added that police "strongly believe that answers to Danny’s murder lie within the community".
"I am appealing to members of the public to get in touch with any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem," she said.
