Woman sees daughter and husband shot outside house

The scene of the shooting According to witnesses a van pulled up beside the pair and a gunman fired up to five times

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A woman whose husband and daughter were critically injured in a gun attack in north Belfast saw the gunmen make their getaway, the police have said.

The 47-year-old man and his 18-year-old daughter were shot at Evelyn Gardens, off the Cavehill Road, after 08:30 BST on Tuesday.

The woman has stomach and hand injuries. Her father has life-threatening chest injuries. Detective Chief Inspector Karen Baxter said two men were involved.

The police officer said the woman had come out of the house and saw a small red van driving off.

Det Chief Insp Baxter told a news conference it was "much too early" to be drawn on a motive and said they were still assessing a range of information coming into them.

Detective Chief Inspector Karen Baxter appealed for information Detective Chief Inspector Karen Baxter appealed for information

Police are looking into a possible link with a van found in the Oldpark area.

The vehicle was found on fire at Ballymoney Street in the north of the city just before 09:00 BST.

The police have appealed for witnesses to contact them.

They especially want to hear from the occupants of a red car which was seen driving away from the area around the time of the shooting.

SDLP councillor Nichola Mallon condemned the shooting.

She said: "This shooting is a deeply worrying event in any case, but it is especially heinous given that it occurred at 8:30am, when people are travelling to school and work."

Alliance councillor Billy Webb described it as a "vicious and callous attack on two people in a residential area".

Evelyn Gardens, Salisbury Avenue and Hughenden Avenue have been closed.

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