Young man seriously hurt after being shot in the leg

PSNI officer with armour with his back to cameraImage source, Pacemaker
Image caption,

Police said the 18-year-old victim had been taken to hospital with a suspected gunshot wound following a shooting in the Springtown Road area on Wednesday

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A young man has suffered serious injuries after being shot in the leg in Londonderry.

Police said the 18-year-old was shot in the Springtown Road area of the city shortly after 22:10 GMT on Wednesday night.

The man told police he was walking to meet a friend in Creggan when he was followed by a number of people and attacked.

The police described the incident as a "deplorable act of violence" and appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

The SDLP MP for Foyle, Colum Eastwood, described it as "a brutal attack".

“The people behind this brutal and totally brazen attack clearly didn’t care about the safety of anyone in the area," he added.

"There’s no place for this in the city and no one wants it. These people need to give up and go away."

He said anyone with information should give it to the police.

Sinn Féin councillor Emma McGinley also described the shooting as a “brutal attack”, adding it has shocked the local community.

“There can be no justification for such violence and there can be no place for guns on our streets,” she said.