West Belfast shooting victim 'lucky to be alive' - police

The scene of the shooting in Dunmurry was examined by forensic investigators

Police say a 49-year-old republican shot in west Belfast on Sunday is "lucky to be alive".

The shooting happened in Bell Steel Manor in Dunmurry at about 10:30 GMT on Sunday.

The man was shot twice as he sat in his stationary Skoda Octavia taxi when two masked gunmen approached the car and fired a number of shots through the window, police said.

Det Ch Insp Gina Quinn described the attack as "a disturbing incident" and urged people to "desist from retaliation".

The man, who is in a stable condition in hospital, is thought to have been a victim of a republican feud.

He made his way into a taxi office after being attacked.

Republican Network for Unity, a political party with links to the dissident organisation Óglaigh na hÉireann (OnH), has said the man is one of its members. OnH has been linked to a number of gun murders in Belfast in recent years, and there was a split within the group last year.

Police patrols are believed to have been increased amid fears of further violence.

Kids training '30 yards away'

At the scene in Dunmurry: Kelly Bonner, BBC News NI

Police are still here, with a cordon in place outside the shop where the shooting took place.

School children and their parents have had to find an alternative route to St Kieran's Primary School, which is next to where the shooting happened.

One local woman told me she was "fuming" that this happened in her area.

She said "about a 100 kids were training 30 yards from where we're standing".

"That's unacceptable. No one wants this," she added.

Sinn Féin's Danny Baker says "there's no place" for paramilitary gangs

Sinn Féin MLA Danny Baker said there was no "justification for any groups of paramilitary gangs", adding that they did not have support in the community.

"This is a brilliant, vibrant community and they don't want anything like this happening," he told Good Morning Ulster.

"People have called on these groups, and do not want these groups on our backs. They want them out of our communities, they want them disbanded.

"There's no place for them," he said.

The Alliance Party's Peter McReynolds sits on the Northern Ireland Policing Board

The Alliance Party's Peter McReynolds, who sits on the Northern Ireland Policing Board, told the Nolan Show: "What we can do is work with the police, support the police, and keep the police informed to make sure that these people are brought to justice.

"I think over the past few years the police have done really good work through the paramilitary task force that was set up."