Man seriously injured in Co Armagh shooting

One person was seriously injured in a shooting in Co Armagh today

One person was seriously injured in a shooting in Co Armagh today. He was wounded when a number of shots were fired at him as he sat in a parked car in Portadown, police said.

The motorist, who was alone in the vehicle, managed to drive from the scene of the shooting in the Festival Road area of the town despite his injuries. He managed to drive for 10 minutes to the local hospital where he later underwent emergency surgery, said a PSNI spokesman.

It appeared the shooting was carried out by a gunman on a motor scooter. The Police Service said detectives wanted to hear from anyone who saw a red scooter - with a rider wearing blue jeans , white top and a red crash helmet - who made off from the scene at the same time as the shooting.

The shooting is believed to be linked to a feud between rival Portadown elements of the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force and Loyalist Volunteer Force which has claimed four lives in Belfast. This gun attack followed the wounding of a man late last night in neighbouring Lurgan.

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The 26-year-old victim was answering a call at a house in Margretta Close, Lurgan, at around 11.20pm when a shot was fired through the door. He was hit by a bullet in the hallway and taken to hospital for treatment but his injuries were not believed to be life threatening.

Earlier in the month there was also a pipe bomb attack in the same street as today's shooting. Loca Craigavon councillor Philip Weir condemned the latest shooting, describing it as an alarming development.

"This is the last thing the people of Portadown and the Craigavon area would have wanted at this time," the DUP councillor said.