A 22-year-old Belfast man who was shot in the head last week in the loyalist paramilitary feud has died in hospital.
He is the third victim of the ongoing dispute between the Ulster Defence Association and the Loyalist Volunteer Force.
Mr Alexander McKinney, Portallo Street, died in hospital yesterday. He was shot in the Woodstock area of the city last Monday night. Intermediaries are attempting to broker a permanent agreement between the two groups to end the feud. Last week, loyalist leaders took part in talks with Protestant clergy aimed at stopping the violence. The discussions followed Mr McKinley's shooting and a gun attack on another man in his 30s who was walking in the Beersbridge Road area when he was fired upon. He escaped uninjured.
The feud began when one of the LVF's leading members, Mr Stephen Warnock, was shot dead in Newtownards, Co Down, in September. The second victim was Mr Geoffrey Thomas Gray who was shot dead in Ravenhill Avenue east Belfast. Senior UDA member Mr Jim Gray was injured in a gun attack in east Belfast. Loyalist sources last night said they hoped Mr McKinley's death would not harm efforts to end the feud.
Meanwhile, police have described as attempted murder an incident in north Belfast in which a man was struck by a car. The victim is in hospital after he was knocked down in the North Queen Street area on Saturday.