A body was found at a house in north Belfast yesterday shortly after shots were fired during an attempted post office robbery nearby. It is understood the two incidents are linked.
The RUC last night named the man as Mr Patrick Joseph James Ward (26), from Whiterock Gardens.
Two masked men entered Carr's Glen Post Office on the Ballysillan Road and demanded money. One was said to be carrying a handgun and the other a sledgehammer. They attempted to smash down the security screen in front of the counter but fled empty-handed after shots were fired.
It is understood that the shots were discharged from a legally-held firearm.
Their Ford Escort was later found abandoned at Lisdarragh Park. Thirty minutes later, at nearby Kansas Avenue, Mr Ward was found dead in the hallway of a house which has been converted into flats. It is about one mile from the scene of the attempted robbery.
The dead man is understood to have suffered gunshot wounds.
Police sources are linking the discovery of the body and the raid a short distance away and believe the incidents are related.
Police investigating the discovery of Mr Ward's body and the attempted robbery sealed off both scenes and took away a second car which they believed may have been left by the robbers as another getaway car.
No arrests have been made.
A post-mortem examination was being carried out.