Loyalists tonight denied a new feud was erupting after gunmen attacked the home of the nephew of Johnny Adair.
The shooting at the house of Mr Mark Adair and his girlfriend had sparked fears of a fresh round of attacks.
But the Reverend Mervyn Gibson, chairman of the Loyalist Commission, said he had been assured the attack was not paramilitary-related.
"There are no indications that this is the start of any feud or anything else.
"I don't know who carried out the attack and I would be frightened of people heightening tensions unnecessarily."
His comments followed calls for the commission, which has influence over loyalist paramilitaries, to intervene to prevent an outbreak of violence.
Mr Mark Adair and his partner Ms Natalie Truesdale were out when a number of men blasted their house at Summer Street, Cliftonpark, north Belfast, last night.
Police said the gang sped away in a red car after the attack.
Ulster Unionist councillor Mr Chris McGimpsey described the shooting as attempted murder.
"Irrespective of who they are, no paramilitary organisation, if it was paramilitaries, has the right to go out and attempt to murder anybody."
There had been fears that the Ulster Defence Association, which recently announced an extension of its ceasefire, was behind the shooting.
Ms Truesdale's former boyfriend Jonathan Stewart was shot dead at a St Stephen's Day party in 2002 at the height of a feud between Johnny Adair and his former UDA comrades.