The Loyalist Volunteer Force in a statement admitting responsibility for a gun attack on a Protestant man in Lurgan, Co Down, also ordered the victim to leave the area within 24 hours.
The RUC is treating Wednesday night's attack in the town's loyalist Mourneview Estate as attempted murder.
The intended victim, a local man, had just parked his Vauxhall Astra car in a lay-by on Mourne Road when he was attacked by a masked gunman.
The gunman approached the passenger side of the car before opening fire with a hand gun on the man, who was the sole male occupant. As the gunman fired a number of shots into the vehicle, the driver saved himself by ducking down into the footwell of the car. One bullet shattered the passenger side window and struck a head rest. Another embedded itself in the driver's door, while a third bullet hit the driver's seatbelt support. A fourth shot passed through the windows of the car and hit a petrol station opposite.
After firing the shots, the gunman made his escape into the Mourneview Estate. It is reported that the occupant of the car gave chase but lost the gunman in the nearby streets. It is understood the intended victim had been forced out of Lurgan some time ago by loyalist paramilitaries and had recently returned to the area. It is believed he was visiting a relative who had just been released from hospital when the attack took place.
In a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, the LVF also ordered the man to leave the area within 24 hours. The RUC said the intended victim had what it described as "a narrow escape" and has appealed for witnesses to come forward.