UVF BLAMED OVER EAST BELFAST MURDER BID ON WOMAN

Police appeal for information after a woman shot several times in east Belfast

Police appeal for information after a woman shot several times in east Belfast

DETECTIVES have launched a murder bid probe after a woman was shot five times in east Belfast.

The attack has been blamed on the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) which recently lost a stash of new handguns and ammunition which were found in a secret hide in east Belfast.

The attempted murder of the 24-year-old has been roundly condemned by all politicians in east Belfast.

The PSNI has confirmed that detectives from the PSNI’s Serious Crime Branch were now treating the attack as attempted murder.

A police spokesman said: “The investigation into the incident is in its early stages and several lines of enquiry are being investigated.

“Police are treating this incident as attempted murder and would appeal to anyone who witnessed this incident or anyone who has any information to contact them.”

The victim of the attack is in a stable condition in hospital.

Doctors are treating her for injuries to her lower abdomen, hips and knees after she was shot five times.

Politicians have described the attack, which happened in the Lord Street Mews area around 10.40pm on Wednesday night as “barbaric”.

It is believed the single woman is from the area and had been living at the house for several years.

Local people at first mistook the shots for fireworks.

One man told Belfast Daily: “People have been left very frightened about this attack on a young woman in the area.

“We don’t know what is behind it but she is a very lucky girl to be shot that many times and survive.

“People said they heard her screams. She was in a lot of pain and shouting ‘help me, help me’.

“It is just appalling that anyone could do this.”

Crime scene investigators spent Thursday morning at the sealed off shooting incident gathering forensic evidence.

The area’s MP Naomi Long said: “This was an utterly appalling and barbaric. I call on anyone with information on to give it to the police.”

Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) councillor Jim Rodgers said there was no justification for bringing guns on to the streets.

He said: “I totally and utterly condemn this. It is deplorable, sickening and disgusting. It is ten times worse whenever a female is involved.

“Regardless of the reasons that people carried out this attack it is attempted murder and someone has tried to take the law into their own hands to act as judge, jury and executioner.”

DUP MLA Robin Newton said the shooting was an attempt to drag the community backwards.

“There can be no justification for this dreadful act and society needs to move away from such barbaric behaviour,” he said.

“This type of action drags the community back to the bad old days when there is a great desire across society to move on to better days.”

 

 

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