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Police have begun a murder investigation after prominent loyalist George Gilmore died from injuries he sustained in a gun attack in Carrickfergus.
The 44-year-old - known as 'Geordie' - was shot in the neck as he sat in a car in Pinewood Avenue at about 2.15pm on Monday in an incident being linked to a feud between loyalist factions in the Co Antrim town.
Police confirmed on Tuesday he had died from his injuries in hospital.
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The feud, ongoing for many years, involves two factions of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) paramilitary group.
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Just hours before Mr Gilmore was shot he wrote on Facebook: “The days of the UDA putting people out of Carrick are over.”
Attempts on his life have been made before and he previously refused to leave the area.
Last summer there was a tense stand-off between rival loyalists outside his home.
At the time video footage emerged online of about 100 men, some masked, marching toward his house.
The head of the PSNI’s Serious Crime Branch Detective Chief Superintendent Raymond Murray says the gunman involved in Monday afternoon’s shooting is believed to have fled the scene on foot.
“Our thoughts are with the Gilmore family at this time as they come to terms with their loss,” he said.
“We are still at an early stage of the investigation, which is now a murder investigation, and while we have definite lines of enquiry I would appeal to local people to help us identify the person or persons who orchestrated and carried out this ruthless attack in broad daylight.”
The senior officer said those who carried out the attack in the residential area had no consideration for the local community and he urged anyone in the south east Antrim area with information to “help us remove them from your community and place them before the courts”.
In an online tribute, Mr Gilmore’s son George Jnr wrote that his father had been “murdered by cowards”.
UUP East Antrim MLA Roy Beggs condemned the murder and called for a security crackdown. “The events in and around Carrickfergus over the past few days have been horrendous,” he said.
“Action needs to be taken to bring a degree of security to the entire community.
“I support a strong security response by the PSNI to ensure guns are found and removed, so that no one else is caught up in the cross fire of a bloody feud which has gone on for far too long.”
Mr Gilmore’s fatal shooting came after a doorman at a bar in Carrickfergus suffered serious head injuries in an incident on Sunday.
Police can be contacted on 101 or anonymously via the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.