Danny McClean (54) was shot at close range by one gunman as he sat in a red Audi in the driveway of a property on Cliftonville Road in north Belfast, police have confirmed.
The "brutal and calculated murder" was carried out by a single gunman who emerged from a side street, wearing dark clothing and gloves, and who walked back towards Clifton Crescent after the shooting, PSNI Superintendent Jason Murphy said.
Mr McClean is understood to have been a former member of dissident republican group Oglaigh na hEireann (ONH).
Supt Murphy said the victim had been sitting in the driver’s seat of a red Audi Q2 when he was attacked last night.
He extended his sympathies to the dead man's family.
“This was a brutal and calculated murder carried out by someone who has no regard for life; there can be no justification for it whatsoever. It was carried out in a built up residential area, putting families living there at risk and it is extremely fortunate that no-one else was injured as a result of this shooting," Supt Murphy said.
He added: “The lone gunman crossed from Clifton Crescent and fired a number of shots at close range. This gunman was wearing dark clothing and gloves and after the shooting, walked back towards Clifton Crescent."
The senior officer appealed for anyone who was in the area of Clifton Crescent at its junction with Cliftonville Road between 7.30pm and 8.30pm last night to contact police and encouraged residents or businesses in the area with CCTV to do the same. He also appealed for dash-cam footage.
Information can be uploaded to the PSNI Major Incident Public Portal at mipp.police.uk Crimestoppers can also be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org
Forensics officers at the scene of the murder:
