LAST UPDATE | 3 Dec 2022

POLICE IN NORTHERN Ireland are appealing for information following the murder of a man outside his home in Newry, Co Down.

Mark Lovell was shot a number of times shortly after 6pm on Thursday, at close range, whilst in his car outside his home in the Ardcarn Park area of the city.

Detective Chief Inspector Anthony Kelly said today: “Mark Lovell was a much-loved husband and father and was cruelly and callously gunned down as he drove towards his own home in the early evening.

“This appalling murder occurred at a time when local people were out and about, and indeed many neighbours who heard the gunshots immediately ran to provide what assistance they could.”

There have been a number of violent incidents in the area in recent months, including acid and hatchet attacks.

Kelly said: “We believe those responsible went to great lengths to plan their attack and lie in wait for their victim to essentially ambush and execute him. They have shown a startling lack of regard for human life and have left a devastated and bereft family in their wake.

“Our murder investigation continues apace and we are working to establish a definitive motive for the killing. I would urge anyone with information and anyone who may have captured dashcam or any other footage in the area at around the time of the murder to please get in touch with detectives from the Major Investigation Team.”

Superintendent Norman Haslett, District Commander in charge of Newry, Mourne and Down District, spoke to reporters about the incident at Newry’s Ardmore Police Station yesterday.

He called it a “brutal and senseless attack on a defenceless man” by people who “have no moral compass”.

The PSNI District Commander added that the victim’s car crashed into a nearby property.

He also acknowledged that there is a “tangible fear and concern” in the area and confirmed that the police presence in the area will be enhanced.

While Haslett told reporters “the investigation is at an early stage”, he said a “line of inquiry” is that these incidents are connected.

Haslett also confirmed that Mark Lovell had been targeted in a shooting in Dundalk in late October and said the PSNI is investigating a cross border element to the shooting.

“The subject of a cross border, organised crime group feud is something that we will be looking at as a line of investigation at this stage,” said Haslett.

He added that a cross border drugs trade “will be an element of the activity that we are looking at, but not the only element”.

With reporting by Diarmuid Pepper