AN ORGANISED crime gang is believed to have been behind the attempted murder of a man in Craigavon on Monday.
The victim, named locally as Ty McGuire, who is originally from England, is fighting for his life after a gunman armed with an automatic rifle fired at least 20 shots through a living-room window.
At least one of the bullets wounded the 31-year-old in the head. His condition at the Royal Victoria Hospital was described as critical on Monday evening.
No-one else was in the house at Carrigart Crescent when the gunman opened fire at about 1.45am.
Police are investigating a possible link to a silver Skoda car that was stolen from Dublin in December and had fake number plates fitted.
The car was found burnt out just over a mile away in the New Line area of Lurgan a short time after the shooting. It was taken away for forensic examination.
Mr McGuire, a father-of-one, had been living in Craigavon for some time but is originally from Tilbury in Essex.
Chief Inspector Jon Burrows said police are still investigating a motive.
“Someone must know what the background to this was,” he said.
“Why was this person targeted? It was a very orchestrated, carefully planned attack.
“Is there anything happening in that area? Do you know anything about that individual who was targeted? At the moment we have no motive, no suspects. We are looking for the community’s help in finding out what the motivation of this is.
“We are open-minded as to who did it.”
The shooting is not being linked to paramilitaries but is instead thought to have been carefully planned by an organised crime gang.
There have been several fatal shootings in Craigavon in recent years.
In 2011 husband and wife Hugh and Jacqueline McGeough were found shot dead in their home at Legahory Court amid allegations of involvement in the drugs trade.
In 2009 Constable Stephen Carroll was murdered by the Continuity IRA after attending a call-out at Lismore Manor.
Six people, two of them children, also escaped injury during a gun attack on a house in the town’s Drumgor area in December last year.
