A man has died after being shot outside a nightclub in Belfast on Saturday night.

He was twice hit in the chest and stomach when shots were fired at the Space Night Club in Talbot Street, near the city centre, at about 0005 (GMT).

Forensic experts combed the scene

Two ambulances went to the scene and the injured man was taken to the Mater Hospital, about a mile away.

The victim was a doorman at the club. Witnesses have said the shooting happened as staff were admitting a group of people.

The BBC's Kevin Kelly reports (Dur: 1-39)

A car pulled up and a man inside wound down a window before opening fire with a handgun. A passenger got out and also shot at the men.

The doormen tried to escape but one was hit and fatally wounded.

Passers-by watched the investigation

A red Sierra car found burned out two miles away in east Belfast may be linked to the killing.

It is not clear if the murder had a sectarian motive or was linked to the club itself. A drugs-related shooting occurred last weekend in a bar.

The BBC's Kevin Kelly says detectives are keeping an open mind

The incident follows a similar pattern of recent shootings by Loyalists in revenge for the Irish National Liberation Army murder of the Loyalist Volunteer Force chief Billy Wright at the Maze Prison just after Christmas.

In the first incident a doorman was shot and killed at the Glengannon Hotel, near Dungannon, Co Tyrone, and several other people were injured.

Then, on New Year's Eve, a man was killed when gunmen opened fire on customers at the Clifton Tavern, Cliftonville Road, north Belfast.

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