Police say man dead following shooting in Newry

PSNI officers at the scene of the incident in the Ardcarn Park area

A man has died following a shooting in Newry, Co Armagh.

The incident took place in the Ardcarn Park area of the town.

A PSNI statement said: “Police are currently at the scene of a shooting incident in the Ardcarn Park area of Newry this evening.

“Ardcarn Park is currently closed to both motorists and pedestrians.”

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No further details were disclosed.

SDLP Newry and Armagh MLA Justin McNulty described the attack as “disgraceful” as he condemned the shooting.

The local community was “reeling”, he said. “This is a shocking incident and the local community has been in a state of disbelief as details have emerged. Nobody wants to see scenes like this in our community.

“There can be no place for guns on our streets and I would encourage anyone with any information to come forward to police as soon as possible so the people behind this disgraceful attack can be apprehended and this dangerous weapon can be removed from circulation before anyone else is hurt.”

Alliance MLA Nuala McAllister condemned the murder.

“There is no place for guns on our streets,” said Ms McAllister. “This is a call-back to the dark old days and we cannot allow those who want to drag us back to the past to do so.”

SDLP councillor Declan McAteer “utterly condemned” the shooting. “I would appeal to people and neighbours to support the police in any way in the attempt to find the perpetrators of what is a heinous crime committed in our locality,” he told the PA news agency.

“Thankfully we haven’t had many shootings of this nature in the last number of years. This departure is quite worrying.

“Although we don’t know what the background is, it’s always worrying when a murder like this takes place.”