POLICE investigating the attempted murder of a man in West Belfast last February have renewed their appeal for information.
The appeal, in the run up to the one-year anniversary of the gun attack, is backed by a renewed reward of up to £20,000 from the charity Crimestoppers.
Sean O'Reilly, then aged 49, was shot as he sat inside a white Skoda Octavia taxi in the Bell Steel Manor area.
For the first time, police have released an image of the scene, to include the taxi.
Detective Inspector Gina Quinn said: “The attack, which took place on a Sunday morning, 23 February in 2025, was a ruthless and targeted attack with one intention – to take a man’s life. It took place in broad daylight, in a busy area of West Belfast, where any passer-by could also have been seriously injured or killed.
“Today, I am releasing an image that shows that scene, along with the victim’s vehicle.
“We believe that two gunmen approached the taxi, on foot, from a path that runs between the Glenwood and Laurelbank areas. One male was in dark clothing, while the second was wearing a hi-vis yellow jacket. A number of shots were fired at the victim. This was at approximately 10.25am.
“The two then made off on foot, via the same path, crossing the Stewartstown Road and entering the Glasvey area. At this stage, the hi-vis jacket has been removed. They then crossed the Twinbrook Road, before entering the Gardenmore Road area just before 10.40am.
“From subsequent searches in the Glasvey area, we recovered a number of items, including firearms, a baseball cap and, what we believe, is the jacket worn by one of the gunmen.
The hi-vis jacket that was recovered
“It’s now one year on, but please be assured that our determination to bring those responsible to justice remains steadfast. This was a planned and shocking act of cold-blooded criminality, and one which has absolutely no place in today’s society.
“I am taking this opportunity to reiterate our appeal to anyone with information, or who may have seen or captured footage of the attack or those movements before or after the attack, to do the right thing and contact detectives on 101.
“I’m also keen to stress that Crimestoppers, who are a charity and independent of police, can be contacted with total anonymity. The charity is offering a reward of up to £20,000 for information received directly that leads to the arrest and conviction of any person or people linked to the attempted murder. With Crimestoppers, calls are never recorded, there’s no caller line display or 1471 facility, and computer IP addresses can never be traced.”
