POLICE APPEAL FOR INFORMATION ON KILLING

THE RUC have renewed their appeal for information about the murder of Antrim teenager Ciaran Cummings.

The RUC Antrim District Commander, Superintendent Richard Meek, said that the investigation was currently concentrated on the movement of the black motorcycle which was used in the attack. Police suspect that Mr Cummings attackers may have used the motorcycle to survey the area before the attack was carried out.

Despite a claim made on Wednesday July 4 that the killing had been carried out by dissident loyalist paramilitary group the Red Hand Defenders, the Superintendent said that officers were pursuing a number of lines of inquiry.

He added that while there had been an excellent response the appeal for information on the shooting, anyone with information should contact the incident room at the Antrim RUC station.

Two men on a motorcycle approached 19-year-old Mr Cummings as the waited for a lift near the Greystone roundabout shortly after 7.15 am on Wednesday. He was shot several times and was later declared dead at the scene.

It is understood that Mr Cummings and several of his friends had received threats believed to have originated from the LVF.

The murder has outraged local community leaders and been widely condemned. British prime Minister Tony Blair who is attempting to broker new talks on the Northern Ireland peace process described the murder as a “tragic and terrible event.”

Meanwhile in Armagh amid heightened sectarian tensions bullets have been mailed to three Catholic families living in mixed estates in the city. Police branded the act as “naked sectarian intimidation” and appealed for the community to work together to reject such unacceptable actions.

(SP)