Boy, two, shot in head by airgun

A TWO-YEAR-OLD boy was recovering yesterday after being shot in the head with an airgun.

He was outside his home on McDonald Street in west Belfast when the shooting happened on Sunday evening.

A Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) spokeswoman said he was struck on the forehead with a pellet at 7.45pm.

She said: “The boy was admitted to hospital but was since discharged.”

She also appealed for witnesses to the incident, and to anyone who knows who was responsible to contact the police.

The police urged anyone who owns a pellet gun to keep it in a safe place and out of children’s reach.

The spokeswoman warned that pellet guns can inflict serious injury.

Meanwhile, a crossbow bolt was fired at police investigating loyalist paramilitary-style beatings on Sunday night.

The bolt struck a vehicle when a crowd gathered to attack officers involved in follow-up searches at two housing estates in Carrickfergus, Co Antrim.

Earlier, four men were beaten with bricks, hammers and meat cleavers in the Woodburn and Castlemara estates. Police believe all four attacks were linked.

A spokesperson said a number of items were later taken away for forensic examination.