Man shot in chest is 'critical'

A man is in a critical condition in hospital after being shot in the chest last night in an incident on the outskirts of west Belfast.

The shooting happened on the Good Shepherd Road in Poleglass outside Colin Mill Lodge at about midnight on Monday.

It is understood the victim, who is in his fifties and may be a member of the Travelling community, spent most of last night in the operating theatre undergoing emergency surgery.

A PSNI spokesman said the area would remain cordoned off this morning while their investigation continued.

Children on their way to Good Shepherd Primary School were diverted because of the police operation.

The incident is thought to be similar to an attack on the life of a member of the Travelling community three days ago.

On Saturday June 16, a 31-year-old man was shot in the chest around midnight in Church Road, Ballynure in County Antrim.

The injured man’s cries for help awakened a retired couple from their sleep and they contacted police.

Police said that the latest shooting victim was described as critical but stable in hospital and that an exact motive has yet to be established.

Detectives investigating the attempted murder last night urged a male caller who rang them anonymously yesterday to contact them again.

In a separate incident in the Lisburn area, a woman escaped injury in a gun attack on her home. Shortly after 11.30pm on Monday, four shots were fired by a gunman through the living room window of the house at Lurganure Road in Lisburn. The woman, who was in the living room at the time, suffered severe shock, although she was not physically injured. A Police spokesperson said the woman had “a very lucky escape”. The gunman ran away to a waiting car and drove off in the direction of Lisburn. The police have appealed for information on the attack.

Meanwhile in Coleraine, a 20-year-old man was shot in the ankle and two other people were also treated in hospital after they were assaulted with an iron bar. The victims were attacked when five men burst into a house just before midnight.

(AMcE)