Gunshot victim a close friend of suspected crime gang hitman

Man (47) blasted in the abdomen by masked assailant not long after leaving prison

A MAN in a serious but stable condition in hospital after being shot in Co Down is a close friend of an alleged hitman for the crime gang known as The Firm.

Brian Mccourt (47) was hit in the abdomen in an attack in Banbridge on Friday evening.

He was targeted shortly after 8pm in a car park on Rathfriland Road. He is believed to been lured there for a meeting.

He was sitting in a taxi when a masked gunman approached the vehicle and opened fire.

A 46-year-old man arrested in connection with the shooting has been released on bail, pending further inquiries.

Because of his condition, Mccourt is not believed to have cooperated with the police so far.

He was recently released from prison after serving a sentence for threatening to kill a man and “cut his face” in a row over an ex-partner.

Mccourt tried to appeal the sentence as being excessive in August last year. The then 46-year-old, from Oak Lodge in Banbridge, had previously pleaded guilty to making threats to kill and damage property.

During a challenge to the sentence, the Court of Appeal heard the victim informed police that he had received menacing phone calls from Mccourt.

He hung up and blocked the number after the defendant threatened to kill him.

Mccourt was said to have been aggrieved at the other man being aware of an issue involving his former partner.

He advised the victim to unblock his number or “there would be consequences”.

As police recorded the man’s complaint, he received another two aggressive calls.

Mccourt called him a “scumbag” and a “f ****** rat”, the court heard, and made threats about damaging his mother’s home and attacking him.

He was arrested but while being taken into custody allegedly declared: “I’m going to f ****** kill him.”

Mccourt was given a 21-month jail term, half to be served in custody and half on licence, after admitting the offences.

Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan refused his appeal against the sentence, describing it as a “worrying” case.

“There are serious aggravating factors [and] a series of threats,” she said.

“We don’t consider that the sentence imposed was manifestly excessive.”

Mccourt was under the protection of The Firm in prison.

He is a close associate of one of the leading members of the cross-community crime gang, a man on bail and awaiting trial for serious criminality.

The Firm has been linked to two murders in recent years, including Malcolm Mckeown in August 2019.

The member of a well-known loyalist crime family was shot dead in his car in at a service station in Waringstown.

The gang was also linked to the murder of Shane Whilta in January last year. He was targeted after running up a drug debt.

Kevin Conway, who was on bail after being charged in connection with the murder of Whitla, was shot dead by dissident republicans in west Belfast in January.

Sources ruled out any dissident involvement in the shooting of Mccourt.

Detectives are investigating a potential link to a burning car found near to where the shooting happened.

The vehicle, which was discovered in the Drone Hill Road area of Corbet, matched a description of the Silver Peugeot used as a getaway car.

The shooting was carried out a five-minute drive away from McCourt’s Banbridge home, with the vehicle found less than 10 minutes away.

Politicians strongly condemned the attack.

Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie appealed to anyone with information about the “shocking incident” to bring it to the attention of the police.

“Guns do not belong on our streets,” he added.

DUP MP Carla Lockhart urged the public to allow the PSNI time and space to investigate “this serious incident”.