The family of an 18-year-old girl killed in a shooting in which her older sister was seriously injured is in deep shock, community leaders have said.
Lauren O?Neill who had only recently celebrated her birthday was killed in a gun attack in the small village of Bellaghy, Co Derry, yesterday morning.
Her 21-year-old sister is in a critical condition in hospital after the shooting at a house in
William Court which is now at the centre of a major police investigation.
A 26-year-old man was arrested in nearby Toomebridge on suspicion of murder within an hour of the shooting and is still being questioned by the PSNI detectives.
Another man and a woman, both aged 28, were arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender but were released unconditionally last night by detectives.
Since then a priest said he believed Lauren died trying to protect her sister, while Stormont deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness visited the family and said they are in trauma.
Mr McGuinness, who is MP for the area, said: ?This family is clearly deeply shocked and traumatised by what has happened over the weekend.
?Their daughter has been murdered and another daughter seriously injured. I spent some time with the family and offered our support and that of the wider community at this time.?
It is understood the dead girl was living at her family home, in a neighbouring housing estate, and was visiting her older sister at the time of the shooting.
Bellaghy parish priest Fr Andrew Dolan said the teenager died trying to protect her sister: ?When Brenda was under attack, Lauren dived in to save her and in the process lost her own life.
He told the BBC: ?I?d say they were close in life and in death couldn?t be closer.? A PSNI spokesman said police were alerted to the shooting shortly before 10.40am on Saturday.
The 26-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder at 11.10am in the Toomebridge area and taken to the Serious Crime Suite at Antrim police station.
SDLP representative Patsy McGlone said the community was stunned by the shooting.
?There is an overwhelming sense of shock amongst local people that something like this has happened so close to home in broad daylight,? he said.
?This must be extremely painful for the victims? families and our thoughts are with them as they try to come to terms with this awful tragedy.
?I strongly appeal for anyone with information about this incident to pass it on to the police urgently.?
Caoimhe Scullion, Sinn Fein councillor on Magherafelt District Council who lives in Bellaghy, said the tight-knit village had been plunged into shock over the gun attack.
?Everybody is in complete shock.We hear these stories happening everywhere else, but you never think it will happen on your doorstep.?
Ms Scullion said everybody knows everybody else in the small village.
Ian Milne, also a Sinn Fein councillor who lives in Bellaghy, said the dead girl marked her 18th birthday within the last two weeks. ?The area is in total shock,? he said.
?Nobody can understand why this has happened. Everyone is very raw.? Mr Milne added: ?Our thoughts and prayers are with the family. We hope and pray the girl that is injured will make a recovery.?
PA