Masked men escort funeral of paramilitary victim in Belfast

Former Continuity IRA figure buried as PSNI focus investigation on dissident groupings

Masked men wearing berets and black ties have escorted the funeral procession of the man shot dead in west Belfast last week.

Tommy Crossan, a 43-year-old father of six, was shot dead at a business premises on the Springfield Road in the city on Good Friday. He was hit a number of times and died at the scene.

The murder victim was a former senior figure in the Continuity IRA, a dissident group opposed to the peace process. Detectives investigating the killing suspect he was shot by other dissident figures

Around 100 people followed his Tricolour-draped coffin following his funeral Mass this morning at the Church of St John the Evangelist on the Falls Road. The cortege was led by a lone piper to Milltown cemetery in west Belfast for burial.

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The PSNI arrested a 36-year-old man in the wake of the killing but he has since been released.

A red BMW car, thought to be connected to the murder, was found partly burned out in the Beechmount area of west Belfast.

The PSNI has said: “Mr Crossan was known to police, but no matter what his lifestyle was, absolutely nothing justifies this barbaric action against him. Police are working on a number of lines of inquiry.

“One line of inquiry centres on individuals or groups who would associate themselves with dissident groupings, however we are keeping an open mind.”