Three men have been arrested in connection with the murder of a man found shot dead on a rural road.
The body of Philip Strickland (36) was discovered in a car near Comber, Co Down, last night.
It is suspected he may have been the victim of a fallout among criminals.
The three suspects (aged 25, 26 and 54) were arrested in the Co Down area and have been taken to the police’s Serious Crime Suite in Antrim.
A number of other vehicles were spotted in the area where the body was found, on the Ballydrain Road, at the time of the shooting.
According to some sources, one line of investigation being followed by detectives is that the shooting could be connected to a row among criminals. The victim was known to police.
Ballydrain Road is a rural, narrow route south of Comber, close to the Strangford Lough, and is popular with fishermen and yachtsmen. It is around 16-24km from Belfast. The area has been sealed off as detectives investigate and forensics experts search the ground for clues.
Northern Ireland’s First Minister Peter Robinson and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness have expressed their shock and anger at the murder.
Mr Robinson said: “The local area has been numbed by this terrible crime. Deeds like this have no place in society and those who carried out this murder have nothing positive to offer. I call on the community to work with the police in order to apprehend those responsible.”
Mr McGuinness echoed the condemnation.
“There can be no justification for the callous and brutal murder of this young man,” he said.
“This action will be rightly condemned across the entire community and we all hope that the perpetrators of this senseless crime will be brought to justice as soon as possible.”
Both ministers expressed their condolences to the family of Mr Strickland.
PA