Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
DISSIDENTS LINKED TO RAY’S BRUTAL MURDER
PSNI believe republicans behind fatal shotgun attack on man in his home
DETECTIVES are probing a dissident republican link to the brutal shotgun murder of a man in his home.
Ray Johnston, 28, was blasted in front of his partner and an 11-year-old child in West Belfast on Tuesday night.
Det Chief Insp Geoff Boyce said a main line of inquiry was people connected to dissidents were behind the attack.
He added: “It is too early to speculate which group but those are the type of individuals we believe to have been involved.”
Speaking to the media yesterday, DCI Boyce said CCTV from outside the house had captured two suspects fleeing Glenbawn Avenue in Poleglass at 8pm.
He added: “I do not want to go into all the details of what we see but it is part of the appeal for two males that have been involved in the murder and them running away from the scene. That’s only one piece of CCTV, if you can understand there’s quite a large area to cover.”
DCI Boyce said the footage would not be released to the media at this stage, but it would be kept under review.
The senior officer described the death as “particularly brutal”. He added: “The gunmen had been in the house for a very short period of time and he has been murdered in front of an 11-year-old child and his partner.
“We are particularly keen to prevent this from happening again and catch those
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responsible and get justice.” DCI Boyce said it was too early to talk about whether the victim had been under threat and to speculate if the shooting was being linked to the murder of Joe Reilly in Poleglass in 2016.
The officer urged the public to help them establish Mr Johnston’s movements on the day he was murdered. He said: “I am appealing to anyone who met with or spoke with Raymond on Tuesday.
“I am keen to establish the movements of a dark-coloured car that is suspected to have been involved in Raymond’s murder and anyone who may have seen a man wearing a blue coat with fur around the hood make off from the scene getting into this vehicle. Witnesses can contact police on 101 or the confidential Crimestoppers Line on 0800 555 111.