Man (38) shot dead in Derry

Police in Northern Ireland have launched a murder inquiry following the fatal shooting of a 38-year-old man in Derry early this…

Police in Northern Ireland have launched a murder inquiry following the fatal shooting of a 38-year-old man in Derry early this morning.

At approximately 12.15am two masked men entered a house on Woodland Avenue and fired a number of shots.

The PSNI believe the men then made their getaway in a small light-coloured car towards the Cityside area.

The victim was taken to hospital where he died a short time later.

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Mayor of Derry Gerard Diver said he was shocked by news of the murder.

"People are just reacting to the sheer horror of this," he said. "It is like an incident from the worst days of the Troubles.

"Certainly people in Derry would condemn this horrific act. It is something which we hoped we had left behind us."

The victim, who has yet to be named, had only been living in the house for a matter of months.

The property is in a relatively new housing development off the main Derry to Strabane Road on the edge of the city and is regarded as a quiet suburban area.

SDLP leader and Foyle MP Mark Durkan described the killing as a paramilitary-style shooting.

"This is a particularly brutal attack and this murder will come as terrible shock to the man's family and the wider community," he said.

"There can be no justification or excuse for this callous crime, which I totally condemn. Moreover, this incident is an affront to the local community who want violence such as this to stay in the past."

Sinn Féin Assembly member Raymond McCartney said: "The shooting dead of a man in his home has all the hallmarks of the type of gangland killings that have plagued Dublin in recent years and I hope that this killing is not the beginning of similar episodes in Derry."

He added: "There can be no justification in taking his life and those people need to understand that there is no support in the community for these types of actions.

"No matter what label these people operate under, they are a criminal gang, and those people who have information should come forward and give it to the PSNI."

Anyone with information is asked to contact police.