The son of convicted loyalist paramilitary leader Johnny Adair has been injured in a paramilitary-style shooting in Belfast that has been blamed on the UDA.
Mr Jonathan Adair (17) was treated in the Mater Hospital for gunshot wounds to his legs. He was wounded at Florence Square behind the old Crumlin Road courthouse just before midnight last night. He has since discharged himself and is recovering at home.
Security sources said police who went to the scene were forced to leave after being confronted by an angry crowd.
Johnny Adair was freed from prison in May after being sentenced in 1996 to 16 years in jail for directing UFF terrorism.
Ulster Political Research Group spokesman Mr John White - a close friend of Adair's - refused to speculate on why the teenager was targeted. But he admitted Adair would be infuriated by the attack. "His father will obviously be annoyed, as any father would be," he said.
Mr White said he "would not be surprised" if the UFF/UDA were responsible, although he said he would have to investigate further before drawing any definite conclusions.
"The UDA is an organisation that has a hierarchical command structure and incidents can be also dealt at a local level and don't necessarily go through the rank and file," he said.
"Johnny Adair is a very influential person but he is not a leading figure within the UDA," said Mr White. "He can use his influence but he doesn't necessarily know everything that is going on within that organisation."
But another source close to the UFF group, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the elder Adair must have been aware that a decision had been taken to target his son.
"One does not punish Johnny Adair's son with bullets to the legs without the father's support," the source said. "Who controls Shankill Road?"
Sources in the area claimed the attack was most likely to have been over an internal issue and it was highly unlikely the rival UVF or any republican group carried out the shooting.