PSNI: Children nearby as former UDA man was shot
Loyalists who assassinated ousted paramilitary chief Jim Gray could have wounded children playing in the street, police said today.
Detectives hunting the ex-Ulster Defence Association commander’s killers also disclosed they have searched 170 houses.
Gray, 47, was shot in the back outside his father’s home in east Belfast last week as he shifted weightlifting gear from the boot of a car.
The belief that former UDA associates carried out the murder has been strengthened by the discovery of material linked to the outlawed organisation, police said.
And Detective Superintendent Simon Barraclough, heading the inquiry, revealed at least one stray bullet was fired.
He said: “I can confirm that Jim Gray was shot twice in the back.
“I can also confirm at least one round missed Mr Gray and was embedded in the actual ground.
“I know for a fact at the time of night when Mr Gray was shot there was a large number of children actually playing in the street.
“Quite clearly the person who fired these rounds had absolutely no regard whatsoever for those children playing in the street.”
Gray, the most flamboyant of the UDA’s so-called inner council of six brigadiers, was kicked out in March.
His lifestyle of cocaine binges, prostitution and thuggery came in for criticism.
Despite Gray’s reputation as an arrogant and sadistic bully, Mr Barraclough vowed there would be no let up in the hunt for the murderers.
He added: “I really want to catch these killers.
“The right place for them is behind bars in prison for a long time.”
