Man shot dead at wheel of car

Police search the carpark after shooting

Detectives are trying to establish a motive for the murder of a man in County Armagh on Tuesday night.

Bobby McGuigan, 36, was sitting in the driver's seat of a white car parked in the carpark of a block of flats at Liscorrin Court off Ulster Street in Lurgan, where he lived.

Shortly after 2000 GMT, Mr McGuigan, a Catholic, was approached by two masked gunmen who shot him a number of times.

He died at the scene.

Previous attack

It is understood Mr McGuigan was well-known to the police and had had republican connections.

Bobby McGuigan lived at flats where he was shot

He was shot in the knee in a paramilitary-style attack two years ago.

The police said they did not think his murder was sectarian.

They have asked anyone who saw a vehicle, possibly a white van, leave the Ulster Street area on Tuesday night to contact them.

'Horrendous'

Social Democratic and Labour Party councillor Dolores Kelly said: "People are horrified. They can't believe this has happened.

"You think you are safe in your own home in a quiet area which has never been known for any trouble. It is horrendous."

Northern Ireland First Minister David Trimble condemned the murder.

Mr Trimble appealed to "anyone with any shred of information to assist the police without delay so that the perpetrators can be brought to justice".

Mr Trimble added: "While the precise details surrounding the shooting of this man are as yet unclear, it would appear that lawlessness, combined with the use of illegal weapons, has led to the taking of human life."

Mayor of Craigavon, Fred Crowe, said it was "a cowardly act".

"I don't know what these people hope to achieve," he said.