If it had not been for the presence of the men in dark green, little would have betrayed that yesterday was not just another day of pre-Christmas preparations on north-west Belfast's Forthriver estate.
As swarms of police officers combed every inch of grass around the drab four-storey block of flats where the former UDA quartermaster-turned-informer, William Stobie, was shot dead yesterday morning, residents on the staunchly loyalist estate seemed determined that it was business as usual.
One of Mr Stobie's neighbours, who gave the name William, said he had been amazed to learn that he had lived almost next door to the leading loyalist turned informer.
"I had no idea it was him. This is quite a staunch UDA estate so it's hard to see why he would have wanted to live here anyway. Still, it's an awful thing to happen."
A young mother told her little girl: "There is nothing to see here," as she tried to pull her closer to a police cordon. "Look, aren't they getting ready for Santa over there," she distracted her daughter, pointing to a nearby house where Christmas lights were being put up around a window.
Mr Stobie (51) was hit at close range in the head and body by a number of bullets as he was getting into his car just after 6 a.m.
The Red Hand Defenders, a cover name for the UDA, claimed responsibility for his death, accusing him of "crimes against the loyalist community".
The former leading loyalist had only just been acquitted of aiding and abetting the 1989 murder of a prominent Catholic solicitor, Mr Pat Finucane, due to lack of evidence.
Mr Stobie is believed to have followed his normal daily routine of reversing his car out of the driveway to give his partner, Lorraine, a lift to work in south Belfast. She was still in the house when the shooting occurred and was said to be deeply traumatised yesterday.
An elderly woman who was on her way to the shops said her heart went out to Mr Stobie's partner. "Sure, the poor woman must be hysterical. With the trial and everything over she must have hoped they could get back to normal and then this happens, her life just shattered. It's shocking."
The daily lift Mr Stobie gave his partner to work was one of the few occasions the former UDA quartermaster left his Forthriver Road home. Less than two weeks ago he had been informed by police that his life was under threat from loyalist paramilitaries, despite assurances from the local wing of the UDA that he had nothing to fear from them.