Relatives and friends of the west Belfast grandfather murdered while trying to stop thieves taking his delivery van have attended a vigil.
Prayers were offered last night for Harry Holland (65), a greengrocer from the Norfolk Drive area. He suffered a stab wound to his head, possibly with a screwdriver, late on Tuesday as he defended his property. He died at the Royal Victoria Hospital after some hours on a life-support machine. Two of his daughters returned from abroad to be with him.
Four teenagers, two 15-year-old girls and two boys aged 17, are helping police with their inquiries. The murder has provoked outrage from political and community representatives and calls for higher visibility policing and tougher sentencing.
Det Chief Insp Glen Wright said: "This was a horrendous incident and the family are left grieving the loss of 65-year-old Harry, who ran a greengrocer's shop in west Belfast. I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to the whole community to assist us with our investigation."
Grace Devlin, the dead man's mother-in-law, said she wished the parents of those responsible could see what had been done to him.
"I sat all day yesterday with my daughter, sitting watching that poor man who never did a bit of harm to anyone." Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said the murder was "brutal and savage", while his Assembly colleague Alex Maskey, who sits on the policing board which runs the PSNI, said: "This was a dreadful and despicable act. I have known him and the Holland family for many, many years. The whole community, but especially his friends and neighbours on the Glen Road, are deeply shocked by what has happened."
The SDLP's Tim Attwood said the local community deserved to be rid of street crime. "People want law and order," he said. "We need to develop a strategy with police to tackle this lawlessness." Lord Mayor of Belfast Jim Rodgers reflected the widespread concern at the murder and called on parents to act.
"The people of this city are horrified and stunned at the death of Harry Holland, a hard-working man, a husband, father and grandfather, who was well-known and respected in the local community," he said.
"Everyone has a responsibility to ensure that this type of horrendous behaviour comes to an end. We want people in our city to live without fear and this must be the last incident of its kind. We must all begin to deal seriously with the loss of respect for authority.
"This needs to begin in the home and be followed through in schools and through work with young people in our communities before it manifests itself in tragic death and destruction."