The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, has condemned the killing of a Catholic man at a GAA club on the outskirts of Belfast on Friday night as "a gross act of cowardly brutality".
The killing was also condemned by the RUC Chief Constable, Mr Ronnie Flanagan, as "a brutal, cowardly and needless murder of a decent man". He added: "It's a very early stage in the investigation but at this point we would be viewing this as a sectarian murder."
However he refused to speculate as to which paramilitary organisation carried out the shooting.
Gunmen opened fire on Mr Gerry Devlin (36) as he arrived at St Enda's GAA club in Glengormley at 10.50 p.m. on Friday night. The Loyalist Volunteer Force is being widely blamed. Mr Devlin, a father of two teenage sons, died instantly after being shot four times in the head and body. A man was seen running away after the shooting.
The victim ran a youth football team and was described as a respected member of the community. St Enda's is surrounded by loyalist areas and has been the target of numerous sectarian attacks. A former club chairman, Mr Sean Fox, was murdered by the UFF in 1993.
Sinn Fein representative in north Belfast Mr Gerry Kelly said security on the premises was upgraded some weeks ago because the club committee was worried about the possibility of a loyalist attack.
He said the murder bore all the hallmarks of a sectarian attack and urged nationalists to remain calm and vigilant.
Local SDLP councillor Mr Tommy McTeague said the murder was "a cowardly and sick act" and appeared to be the work of loyalists. He appealed for people to keep calm and not to think of retaliation.
"Everyone in the local community will be devastated by this terrible killing, which deserves total condemnation," he said.
Mr Andrews said he was deeply saddened by the killing and could not understand why someone involved in sport should be targeted.
While no group has admitted responsibility, the hardline Loyalist Volunteer Force, which is opposed to the loyalist ceasefire, was also blamed for the murder of another leading GAA figure, Mr Sean Browne, in Bellaghy, Co Derry, earlier this year.
The Political Development Minister at the Northern Ireland Office, Mr Paul Murphy, called on everyone in the community to help the police track down the perpetrators of "this evil act".