Man shot dead 'in drug turf war'
A man shot dead today may have been murdered in a growing drugs dispute.
A masked gunman opened fire on Johnny Graham’s car as he parked it outside his home in Newry, Co Down.
It was one of three separate attacks on houses in the town, all around 1am.
Mr Graham, 20, was taken from the scene at Ardcarne Park to Newry’s Daisy Hill Hospital.
He was transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast for emergency treatment but died later.
Shots were also fired at a house in the same street and in Parkhead Crescent, a few hundred yards away.
Murder squad detectives have set up a major incident room at Ardmore police station in Newry as they try to find a motive.
But it was claimed Mr Graham may have been the victim of a developing turf war over the control of drugs.
A man was wounded in a shooting in the Ballyholland area of Newry at the weekend, and police are examining a possible link.
“This is sinister stuff and boys are falling out over drugs,” one source said.
There was no immediate suggestion of any link to a major cocaine seizure by police who raided a drug factory near Dungannon, Co Tyrone, on Tuesday.
Conor Murphy, a Sinn Féin Assembly member for Newry and Armagh, spoke of the disbelief among residents where the murder happened.
He said: “Whilst the full circumstances of this incident are still unclear, there’s a deep sense of shock within the local community.
“A young man has lost his life and it’s a tragedy for the family concerned.
“Nobody wants to see this type of incident occurring.”
Ulster Unionist MLA Danny Kennedy insisted nothing could justify such a merciless attack.
“Whatever the so-called reasons, it doesn’t excuse murder,” he said.
“This is something Newry could well do without.”
