Mother of murdered Catholic pleads for no retaliation

The mother of the Catholic man shot dead by loyalists in north Belfast today appealed for no retaliation.

Father-of-one Gerard Lawlor, 19, was walking home from a pub in Antrim Road when he was shot a number of times, a few hundred yards from his Whitewell Road home.

Sharon Lawlor said she would pray for his killers, and appealed that no revenge should be taken for her son’s death.

The murder was claimed by the Red Hand Defenders, a cover name used for the Ulster Defence Association and Ulster Freedom Fighters.

Mr Lawlor, who lived at home with his parents and four brothers aged between 10 and 20, was preparing to set up home with his girlfriend and 18-month-old son.

Members of the family were on holiday in Newcastle, Co Down, when police officers broke the news of his death.

Parish priest Father Dan White, who administered the last rites, called on the community to reject terrorists who carried out the murder.

Mr Lawlor was walking home alone when he was shot. Police and troops found his body lying in the street.

The killing came after shootings by both loyalist and republican gunmen left two men injured.

Police Superintendent Roy Suitter said it was a dreadful night and called on local politicians and community leaders to help bring the violence to a halt.

He said: ‘‘To all people of influence I would ask them to get everybody together and get this problem sorted out, because when a 12-year-old on one side of Belfast throws a stone, someone on the other side of Belfast ends up being killed. Somehow, somewhere this has to stop.’’

Earlier last night, a 19-year-old Protestant man was shot in the groin as he stood in Glenbryn Park in Ardoyne, close to the site of last year’s loyalist picket at Holy Cross School.

The man, named locally as Mark Blaney, was said to be ‘‘stable’’ in hospital.

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

‘‘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,’’ he said.

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

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

Sinn Fein councillor Eoin O’Broin claimed that attack followed two other attempted shootings of Catholics in the area.

‘‘Two men came down the Oldpark Road on a motorbike and one got off, but as he aimed the gun at a man outside Henry Joy McCracken’s pub, it jammed,’’ he said.

‘‘They then made off towards the Shankill and the man was taken to hospital and treated for shock.

‘‘Literally, within five or 10 minutes, we heard more shooting. It appeared to be just round the corner off Rosapenna Street.

‘‘We went around to see and there was a young man, he’s in his early 30s, lying on the ground with a gun wound to the upper thigh or so. It seemed to be about eight to 10 shots that we heard.’’

The shootings last night and early this morning followed a series of violent clashes in north Belfast over the weekend.

SDLP councillor Pat Convery said the murder was the inevitable result of growing sectarian trouble in the area.

‘‘People are more and more hell-bent on carrying out attacks and finally it has culminated in the murder of this man,’’ he said.

It was a ‘‘barbaric and ruthless murder’’, said the councillor, adding: ‘‘I don’t know how we are going to get out of this spiral.’’