THE sister of a man gunned down at his West Belfast home is "lucky to be alive" after his killers fired a shot that passed through her handbag.
31-year-old Mark Hall was shot dead at his Rodney Drive home in St James' shortly after 4.30pm on Saturday.
Police said the gunmen fired several shorts through the front window of the house "striking and fatally wounding Mark".
Detective Superintendent Eamonn Corrigan from the PSNI's Major Investigation Team said Mark's sister, who was returning from the local shops, had "tried to intervene" after spotting two gunmen.
“As the gunmen made off a shot was also fired at Mark’s sister which passed through her handbag leaving this woman lucky to be alive today," Det Supt Corrigan continued.
“Mark was taken to hospital and despite the efforts of medical professionals, he sadly died a short time later as a result of his injuries.
“Our thoughts are very much with his entire family who are in a state of absolute shock and grieving for their loved one. No family should ever have to go through this unbelievable level of heartbreak.
The scene of the Rodney Drive shooting
“There is no place for guns and reckless violence on our streets, the thoughtless actions of these gunmen could have resulted in a greater loss of life than we have currently witnessed."
Det Supt Corrigan said the shooting was a "callous" and "targeted" attack, but stated that it is "is too early to speculate on the motive for this murder."
“These gunmen do not think about the impact attacks like these have on the wider community, who are rightfully shocked and fearful.
“I would appeal to anyone who has information about this murder to bring that forward to the police so that we can remove these dangerous individuals from our streets."
People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll said residents in the St James' area "are disgusted and outraged that guns have been brought out and used once again in our communities".
“There is absolutely no place or justification for these heinous acts. My thoughts tonight are with the victim, their family and everyone impacted by this barbaric and awful incident," he said.
Sinn Féin MLA Pat Sheehan said: “There is absolutely no place in our community for guns or for those involved in this attack.
“A police operation is ongoing in the St James' area and I would appeal to anyone with information on this shooting to bring it forward to the PSNI.”
SDLP West Belfast representative Paul Doherty condemned the shooting.
“This incident has been deeply shocking and distressing to the St James' community," he said.
"There is no place in our society for violence. Of course, the thoughts of the whole community will first and foremost be with the victim this evening after this heinous attack.
“I would encourage anyone with information to come forward and assist the PSNI with their enquiries.”
Saturday's shooting took place just yards from where fellow St James' man Warren Crossan was murdered in June last year.
