AS MOST of us were busy getting ready for and then celebrating Christmas, paramilitaries in Derry and Belfast were inflicting misery on two men.
On Saturday an 18-year-old suffered potentially life changing injuries when he was shot twice in the leg in the Poleglass area of Belfast. Yesterday afternoon another man was shot in the leg in Derry. He was able to walk to a church from where the police were called, indicating that hopefully his injuries are not so serious.
Speaking after the second shooting a police spokesman said such actions were an example of how "criminal groups seek to control communities through fear and violence".
There is no place for such brutality in a civilised society. Nobody has the right to shoot another human being and these people should be brought before the courts before they injure or perhaps kill somebody.
