A man was beaten in front of his girlfriend in a house in Newry in what police described as a paramilitary-style assault.
Four masked men forced their way into the house in Mourne View, in the Co Armagh town at around 1.50 am this morning.
They attacked the victim with a hammer and fired three blank rounds from a handgun at his face.
The man is now being treated in hospital for injuries to his head, arms and back. His girlfriend, who witnessed the attack, was unhurt.