PLAIN clothes RUC men yesterday opened fire on a stolen car in Belfast city centre. The officers were on anti crime duty, according to Supt Wesley Lamont, when they noticed the vehicle in Clarence Street West.
Witnesses said three shots were fired in the incident which happened around 4.30 p.m. as employees in nearby offices were leaving work. The car sped off and the RUC had not found it up to last night. There were no reports of any injuries.
A spokeswoman for the Irish Republican Socialist Party, the political wing of the INLA, said the incident raised the question of what a heavily armed gang of undercover RUC men was doing operating on the post ceasefire streets of Belfast.
However, an RUC spokesman said that such incidents fell under Section 3 of the Criminal Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 which states that a person "may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances in the prevention of crime or in affecting or assisting in the lawful arrest of offenders or persons unlawfully engaged".
It was up to the Director of Public Prosecutions and the courts to decide if the firing of shots by police at a stolen car was reasonable, the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, a 23 year old man was recovering yesterday after he was shot in both legs by loyalist paramilitaries in Bangor, Co Down, on Monday night. He was not seriously injured.
The man was attacked at playing fields on the Bloomfield Road. The group, Loyalists Against Thuggery, claimed responsibility and alleged that he was engaged in anti social behaviour. He was released on bail three weeks ago on an assault charge.
The mayor of North Down, Ms Susan O'Brien, of the Alliance Party, said loyalist paramilitaries had no mandate to carry out such attacks.
Several people were last night being questioned by the RUC about the killing of Mr Martin McCrory, an alleged drug dealer, in west Belfast last month. Mr McCrory (30) was shot dead in front of his son and girlfriend in their Turf Lodge home. The killing was claimed by Direct Action Against Drugs which is widely accepted to be a cover name for the IRA.
Meanwhile, up to 30 jobs could be lost following an arson attack on Strabane Enterprise Centre in Co Tyrone which houses eight businesses. Vandals broke into the centre and set it on fire early yesterday, causing extensive damage.
It took over three hours to extinguish the blaze which, it is estimated, caused several thousand pounds' worth of damage. The businesses were involved in a range of manufacturing and service industries including bar fitting, printing and light engineering.