‘New IRA’ murder victim Michael McGibbon

THE devastated family of Michael McGibbon are this morning preparing for his funeral after he was shot dead in north Belfast’s Ardoyne area last Friday night.

The 33-year-old was shot three times in the leg ‘by appointment’ by thugs from the dissident republican criminal gang calling itself ‘New IRA’.

The attack happened in an alleyway at Butler Place which is just a short walk from his nearby home.

The father-of-four was tended to at the scene by his nurse wife Joanne who cradled him in her arms while trying to stem the blood flood from his leg wounds.

He later died from his injuries in the Royal Victoria Hospital from a severed artery to his leg.

Detective Supt John McVea say his killing bore the hallmarks of a paramilitary murder.

Mr McGibbon’s Requiem Mass will take place at the Holy Cross Church close to where he lived on the Crumlin Road where a vigil was held on Tuesday night for the family backed by hundreds of local residents and priests.

He was married with three daughters and a son.

Police have said Mr McGibbon had contacted them to inform them that two masked men had arrived at his house on the evening of Thursday 14 April.

The men ordered him to come out of the house but he refused, and they told him they would return.

The Police Ombudsman is now investigating Mr McGibbon’s murder and police actions prior to his killing.

Hundreds of people gather for vigil on Tuesday evening to support Michael McGibbon’s widow Joanne and her children