The murder of 28-year-old Stephen Carson at a house in south Belfast on Thursday night is a horrific and brutal crime for which there can be no possible justification.
He was shot through a bathroom door in front of his nine-year-old son after three men forced their way into his home in Walmer Street, off the Ormeau Road, just before 10.45pm.
Mr Carson, who was recently released from prison, was taken to hospital but later died of his injuries.
This despicable murder is being linked to a number of other serious crimes in the city with speculation that the killers were also involved in the death of Conor McKee in the Oldpark area of north Belfast last month.
Police have said paramilitaries and individuals linked to organised crime may have been involved in that murder.
Mr Carson was an associate of Kieran McManus (26), a pizza delivery driver shot dead on Kennedy Way in the west of the city in March 2013. Two years previously he had appeared in court in connection with a samurai sword attack in Turf Lodge.
While detectives are looking at a number of lines of inquiry in relation to Thursday's murder, they are particular focused on a possible criminal feud.
If it transpires there is a link between a series of murders then that represents a worrying and sinister development.
Those who carried out these shootings are clearly extremely ruthless and highly dangerous and continue to pose a threat to the community.
It must be hoped the PSNI makes urgent progress in tracking down the gang who carried out this latest murder and anyone who can provide information should come forward.
This type of gun law may be reminiscent of the gangland killings seen so often on the streets of Dublin but we do not want to see it taking hold in Belfast.
