Loyalists behind weekend murder say police

Police have blamed loyalists for the murder of a 28-year-old man in north Belfast at the weekend.

Stephen Albert Paul from Wheatfield Crescent was shot outside his home at around 5.40pm on Saturday. He was immediately taken to hospital but died a short time later.

A second man who was with Mr Paul at the time was also injured during the incident however he is not thought to be in a serious condition.

It is understood that a blue coloured Vauxhall Astra may have been used by those behind the attack and detectives are keen to trace the whereabouts of the car both prior to, and after the shooting. The car was later recovered in the Forthriver Estate area.

Police said a connection "with ongoing tensions within loyalism is one active line of inquiry".

Secretary of State Peter Hain condemned the murder. "This is a grizzly murder of a mafia kind, gangsterism masquerading as loyalism," he said. "It has to stop, it’s intolerable and we’ve got to root out this mob violence and gangsterism from loyalist communities that have suffered so much."

Meanwhile, police investigating ongoing loyalist activity have arrested three people in north Belfast.

They were detained as part of a number of searches in the area on Sunday evening.

(MB/SP)