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The SDLP has said “shooting by appointment” is totally unacceptable after two men were shot within ten minutes and 100 metres of each other in Derry at the weekend.
Detectives at Strand Road are investigating what the PSNI has described as two paramilitary-style shootings in the Ballymagroarty area of the city.
Detective sergeant Michelle Boyd said the “paramilitary-style attacks” happened “within 10 minutes of each other and less than 100 metres apart”.
Police received a report at 8.10pm on Friday that a 24-year-old man had been shot in the knee on a grassed area close to Corrib Court.
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The second shooting was reported to police just after 8.20pm.
A 32-year-old man was shot once in the leg on a grassed area near O’Casey Court.
Both men were taken to Altnagelvin hospital for treatment to their injuries.
Det Sgt Boyd described the attacks as “brutal and vicious”, adding that they will leave the two men with both physical and psychological scars.
“These attacks are yet again more examples of how criminal groups seek to control communities through fear and violence,” she added.
“We would appeal to anyone who saw any suspicious activity in the Ballymagroarty area before the attacks to get in touch with detectives.
“We want to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice, so if you have any information that could help our investigation, please contact us on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference number 1186 of 1/2/19.”
Aftermath
SDLP Foyle MLA Mark H Durkan said is “totally unacceptable”.
“Not only have there been shootings, but the men have been brought into the area from elsewhere to be shot,” he said.
“Violence doesn’t achieve anything, all it does is create more victims.
“This happened on a Friday evening when young people were about.
“They have seen the aftermath and that could be very traumatising, not to mention the injuries caused to the victims.”
According to the latest PSNI statistics, in 2018, 17 paramilitary shootings took place. All of victims were adults.
This figure was down from 28 paramilitary shootings in 2017.
Police noticed a decrease in these sort of shootings between February and July of last year but during the last five months of 2018 there was an average of two per month.
Also between January and December 2018, 50 paramilitary assaults took place, down from 73 in previous year.
Of the 50 casualties one was a child.
Most assaults occurred in Belfast, Antrim, Newtownabbey, Ards and North Down.
There were 17 bombing incidents compared to 29 in the previous year.
A total of 148 people were arrested under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000, down from 171 during the previous 12 months.
The number of people subsequently charged increased from 11 to 15 over the same period, police said.