Anger after shooting incident in Newcastle

Anger after shooting incident in Newcastle

4 November 2015

A WEEKEND shooting incident at a Newcastle housing estate has been roundly condemned by local politicians.

Damage was caused to a window of a house at Burren Meadow during the early hours of Sunday morning. A nearby parked car was also damaged in the incident which occurred around 3.30am.

There were people in the house at the time of the incident and detectives investigating the shooting are attempting to establish a motive. The shooting has been condemned by Sean Rogers MLA and councillors Laura Devlin and Willie Clarke.

Mr Rogers said there is “much anger” in the local community in the aftermath of the shooting, arguing what happened does not reflect the character of those living at the Castlewellan Road estate.

“This is a new housing development and while there have been issues there in the past I thought we had turned a corner,” the MLA continued. “I would urge people with any information about what happened to come forward.”

Mr Rogers also believes that what he described as “information sharing” between the PSNI and Housing Associations could be better, explaining he raised the shooting incident at the Assembly on Monday.

“As a result, Social Development Minister Mervyn Storey has agreed to refer the issue to the Housing
Executive, PSNI and the relevant housing association for further discussion,” he added.

Councillor Devlin said Burren Meadow residents are entitled to live in peace “without fear of violence or attack” and reiterated appeals for anyone with information about the shooting to come forward “so those responsible can be brought before the courts.”

She added: “Newcastle is such a tight knit and warm community. Those responsible for this incident cannot be allowed to chip away at community spirit.”

Councillor Clarke confirmed he is seeking a meeting with senior police and said it is his understanding that officers called at a number of homes last Saturday to warn people they had intelligence to suggest a shooting was to take place on Halloween night.

He continued: “This is something I urgently want to discuss with the PSNI. It’s my understanding four or five homes were visited by police and I am seeking a meeting with senior officers to discus this matter in depth and confirm if this indeed was the case.

“If there was information to suggest a shooting was going to take place officers should have been deployed to this part of the town.
Resource implications may well have prevented this from happening, but additional help should have been requested.”

Councillor Clarke said there have been a number of recent arson incidents at the Bracken Avenue area at the Castlewellan Road in Newcastle and that to date no one has been questioned or arrested.

“Now we have had a shooting incident at this part of the town and there is an urgent need to discuss all these issues with senior police. I am very concerned at what happened last weekend,” he added. 

Detectives investigating the shooting have issued an appeal for information and want to hear from anyone who was in the Burren Meadow area during the early hours of last Sunday and witnessed any suspicious activity to contact them.

Anyone who believes they can assist police with their enquiries is asked to contact them using the non-emergency 101 number. Information can also be passed on anonymously using the confidential Crimestoppers number 0800 555111.