‘Former Continuity IRA man’ shot dead

Tommy Crossan, reported to be the former head of the Continuity IRA – which split from the mainstream Provisional IRA during the Northern Ireland peace process – was shot in shot dead in the grounds of an industrial complex in West Belfast, in full view of surrounding houses, a local representative said.

A priest prayed over his body in an area of Belfast known as a republican heartland, but one which has been relatively peaceful in recent years following the end of the IRA campaign in 1998.

Nationalist SDLP councillor Colin Keenan said: “We have long hoped that the shadow of death had been lifted from West Belfast. Today’s event is a terrible, tragic reminder of the violent conflict of the past.”

Crossan was believed to be the subject of death threats from his former dissident republican allies. The organisation he reportedly headed opposed the peace process, which largely ended three decades of violence and transformed the region.

The attack happened at the Peter Pan Centre in Springfield Road, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said. The road, one of the main arterial routes, has been closed to traffic. Family members have arrived and are said to be devastated.

A PSNI spokesman said: “Police are investigating a fatal shooting in the Springfield Road area of West Belfast this afternoon. One man has been shot dead in the vicinity of the Peter Pan Centre.”

Keenan described the scene in an area mainly made up of tightly-packed terraced housing estates and businesses as horrific.

The CIRA murdered Police Constable Stephen Carroll in Lurgan in Co Armagh in March 2009. It has since been riven with splits. Members of the security forces have been on high alert for attacks by various extremist factions who have also killed two soldiers and a prison officer.

In recent weeks they have stepped up efforts to kill police officers, with several attacks on the force in West Belfast.

After the murder of prison officer David Black on the M1 motorway in November 2012, police mounted an unprecedented surveillance operation against various factions as well making significant arrests.