A man was shot in a car park in Banbridge on Friday night, police say
A man is in a critical but stable condition in hospital after he was shot in the abdomen in Banbridge, County Down, on Friday night.
Police said the man, who is in his 40s, was shot in a car park on the Rathfriland Road.
The shooting was reported to police shortly after 20:00 BST.
A 46-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and conspiracy of murder. He remains in custody.
‘New evidence’
Earlier, police said that a silver Citroen vehicle was driven away from the scene southbound on the A1 dual carriageway after the shooting.
But on Saturday afternoon they issued a correction, saying: “Due to new evidence, we now believe the suspect made off from the scene in a silver-coloured Peugeot vehicle, rather than a Citroen car, as previously reported.”
They said they are investigating a possible link to a silver Peugeot that was found burnt out a short time later in the Drone Hill Road area of Corbet.
A forensic team at the scene of the shooting on the Rathfriland Road on Saturday
The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said it received a call to attend the Tullyear Close area of Banbridge shortly after 20:05.
After initial treatment at the scene one person was taken by ambulance to Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital.
The Rathfriland Road, including its off-slip and on-slip to the A1 dual carriageway, and the Drone Hill Road remain closed on Saturday afternoon.
“Cordons are also in place as enquiries continue and we would advise road users to avoid these areas at this time,” police said.
Earlier, broken glass was visible beside a taxi parked inside the Rathfriland Road park-and-ride car park.
Banbridge community ‘shocked’
The MP for Upper Bann, Carla Lockhart, appealed for anyone with any information about the shooting to contact the police.
“It’s very important that we give time and space for investigations to continue,” she added.
Alliance Upper Bann MLA Eoin Tennyson said people in the town had been “shocked” by the shooting and that those behind it did not represent the local community.
“I utterly condemn this sickening attack, as will any right-thinking individual,” Mr Tennyson said.
“There is no place for guns on our streets and the culprits need taken off our streets.”
A number of roads, including the off-slip and on-slip to the A1 dual carriageway at the flyover and the Drone Hill Road in Corbett, were closed on Friday night.
Police cordons were in place overnight.
