Man killed as shootings rock Belfast

A man has been shot dead in north Belfast as the area was rocked by a series of shootings.

The victim, believed to be a Catholic in his early 20s, was shot in the Flora Road area, in what appears to have been a drive-by shooting.

Earlier, a 19-year-old Protestant man was shot in the groin in Ardoyne, close to the site of last year's loyalist picket at Holy Cross school.

The man, named as Mark Blaney, is said to be "stable" in hospital.

Democratic Unionist councillor Nelson McCausland says republicans were responsible for the attack.

He commented: "There has been a lot of violence here recently but the use of guns by republicans in Glenbryn marks a new departure and people are extremely worried about their intentions.

"People think they may be trying to provoke a reaction in order to plunge this area into new levels of violence."

Shortly after the attack, a Catholic man was shot in the upper thigh in the nationalist Oldpark area.

Sinn Fein councillor Eoin O'Broin claims the attack followed two other attempted shootings of Catholics in the area.

The shootings follow a series of violent clashes in north Belfast over the weekend in which an elderly disabled man narrowly escaped death when a petrol bomb was thrown into home as he slept.