A man was shot dead last night and a woman seriously injured in a gun attack outside a restaurant in south Belfast. The RUC said the shooting was not sectarian and there was widespread speculation that it was drug-related. Republican sources in west Belfast said it was carried out by Direct Action Against Drugs, a cover-name for the IRA. However, this could not be confirmed. The victim is believed to have been a Belfast man in his 30s.
Some sources said the victim had escaped a previous attempt on his life but these could not be confirmed. An RUC spokesman would not be drawn on a motive for the attack.
The murder was condemned by Alliance spokesman, Dr Philip McGarry, who said there could be no justification for it, regardless of what the motive turned out to be.
The victim is believed to have just left Planks restaurant on the Lisburn Road with a female companion, when the shooting happened around 11 p.m. Eyewitnesses said they were ambushed by a lone gunman as they got into their car in Brookland Street. One man said the victim tried to run down a nearby alleyway but was chased by the gunman. Local people reported hearing up to 10 shots. One woman said: "The poor man was shot dead in the middle of the street, it was horrible."
The victim was dead on arrival at Belfast City Hospital. The injured woman is believed to be his partner. Some reports said she was shot in the back and neck, while others suggested she was shot in the leg. She was undergoing emergency surgery early this morning. Her condition is described as serious.
The attack took place yards from Lisburn Road RUC station. Police Land Rovers were at the scene within minutes and the area was cordoned off as forensic experts moved in. Detectives are believed to be following a definite line of inquiry.
The shooting happened about a mile from a pub where a Belfast man was shot and wounded last month. He was hit in the chest when a gunman burst into the Meadows Tavern on the Boucher Road. The RUC Chief Constable, Mr Ronnie Flanagan, later accused the IRA of involvement in the shooting, which was drugs-related.
DADD was responsible for several shootings during the first IRA ceasefire.