Man freed in murder inquiry

A forensic scientist gathers evidence at the murder scene

A man being questioned about a fatal shooting in County Down has been released without charge.

Police are still searching for a motive for the murder of Andrew Cully, 47, at Beaufort Walk in the loyalist West Winds estate in Newtownards.

Mr Cully, a self-employed builder, was shot up to ten times as he sat in his parked car, at about 2000 GMT on Wednesday.

On Thursday, a man in his forties was arrested by police investigating the murder, and was questioned about serious crime in the Newtownards area.

He was held at Antrim Police Station, but released later on Thursday evening.

Mr Cully, a father of two, was originally from Portavogie but lived at North Street in Grey Abbey.

When the first ambulance arrived at the estate minutes after the shooting on Wednesday night, Mr Cully was already dead.

Horror at killing

The area around the scene was cordoned off as police launched an investigation. Forensic scientists moved in on Thursday morning to carry out a detailed search for evidence.

Police say they have previously had no major difficulties at the estate.

Stormont Security Minister Jane Kennedy condemned the killing as "barbaric".

Democratic Unionist MLA Jim Shannon said there had been a rise in paramilitary shootings and beating over the last few months.

"This is an escalation away above and beyond anything we have experienced for a long time," he said.

"I think we are all horrified at the fact that a murder has taken place in the West Winds estate, which is a comparatively safe estate and where there's a lot of good people."

Fellow DUP Assembly member George Ennis said it was not clear why Mr Cully had been killed.

"It seems to have been a random killing which has caused shock and disbelief within the wider estate and community in Newtownards," he said.

"It was something that we had thought was behind us as a result of the so-called peace process."