Two held over Belfast gun thefts

Two men were questioned today by police investigating the theft of legally held guns in west Belfast.

One man was shot in the leg when he refused to hand over a weapon in the Suffolk Road area last night, police said.

Less than an hour later three men forced a householder to hand over guns at a house in Ballymurphy.

A police spokesman said two men, aged 34 and 30, were detained near the Whiterock Leisure Centre. A car was also recovered.

The first robbery happened at about 6.30pm and the gunmen opened fire on their victim in front of his nine-year-old daughter.

Two other children, aged 12 and 13, were upstairs in the house in Larkspur Rise during the raid.

The youngest girl was in the room with her father when the gang burst in and demanded the weapons kept in the house.

When the child’s father refused, the men threatened to shoot him and, when he refused a second time, he was shot in the leg.

The robbers escaped with a number of handguns.

Sinn Féin Assembly Member Paul Maskey said: “Obviously these attacks cause a great deal of concern amongst the community in west Belfast, particularly given the fact that, in one instance, a number of young children were witness to the shooting, but this also indicates the intention of some people to steal guns and introduce them on to our streets.”