Appeals for calm after Belfast shooting

Appeals for calm were made today after a man was shot outside a bar in west Belfast.

Appeals for calm were made today after a man was shot outside a bar in west Belfast.

The shooting is believed to be the result of a feud between two families from the travelling community in the Twinbrook area.

The injured man is in a stable condition in hospital with a single bullet wound to the leg.

Trouble started in the Laurel Glen Bar on the Stewartstown Road during which the victim, in his twenties, was hit on the head by an iron bar. A street fight followed during which he was shot, according to witnesses.

READ MORE

The Police Service of Northern Ireland appealed for the witnesses to contact them. Local Sinn Fein councillor Angela Nelson said there had been tensions between two families from the travelling community.

She said the travellers had all gone to the pub to celebrate after a christening yesterday.

"During the early part of the evening , a man walked into the bar, hit another man on the head with an iron bar and offered him outside for a fight.

"Most of the travellers that live in our community are no hassle at all but there is an ongoing feud among a couple of families which we have been trying to deal with by holding meetings.

"I've been speaking to the brother of the fellow that was shot and I've asked him to make sure that his family keep calm - we don't want it getting out of hand and anybody else getting hurt."